Laws of Nature
by DreamStoryWeaver
Summary: Wasp makes his way to Earth to hunt Bumble Bee! But something else had followed him there. This story is part of an Ultimate Crossover Idea that is still in progress. Please be patient for its out of order.
1. The Arrival

Morayma N. Rodriguez6/30/08

**Transformer Animated**

**Laws of Nature**

Out in space there is a wide ring of rocks called the Asteroid Belt that acts almost like a fence between the inner and outer portions of the Milky Way Galaxy. Occasionally some of these large rocks, wither pulled by a passing planet's gravity or forced through collisions with other rocks, escape the belt and travel through space. These large rocks will more than likely float endlessly for eons without pause. Some of the time, while traveling through this vast region, these asteroids become ensnare by a planet gravitational pull. Planets, such as a certain pretty, little blue orb floating pleasantly in third place from the sun of its system. Also, these rocks can sometimes carry things to these worlds. Strange and wondrous things… as well as dark and menacing… the likes of which none have ever seen.

Such an asteroids could be seen, if anyone has bothered to look at the time, was slowly floating through the inner Milky Way galaxy. It floated slowly along the gravitational pull of the pretty blue planet. There was still enough distance in between the two masses for the asteroid to veer off without entering the atmosphere. Until without warning it was hit by two powerful, electrical blasts. The charges force the space rock into falling and getting trapped in the Earth's gravity. As the meteor plummeted downward, a large mysterious figure fell after it and clamped onto its surface. It blasted and dug into the space rock, creating a small hiding place to shield itself from the heat of entering the atmosphere.

"Grrrraaahh!!" The being growled angrily as it braced itself within it makeshift pod. The heat flowing around gave illumination to its green and black mechanical body. "Wasp coming!!" Its sharp magenta colored optical sensors looked all the more menacing with the surrounding flames of reentry. "Wasp coming for you!!!" Chunks of rock cracked and broke off the asteroid, revealing a faint golden light with in, as the heat and wind flew wildly around it. "BUMBLE BOT!!

******

**Planet Earth: USA**

On the surface of the Earth, in the northern section of North America, a certain little girl with rich red hair tied in pigtails was chatting to her best friend on the phone. "It's going to be wicked cool! You've got to promise to come no matter what, okay Bumble Bee?"

"_**Sure thing, Sari."**_ The voice of her mechanical friend on the other line chuckled at her enthusiasm. _**"I wouldn't miss it for anything."**_

"Okay, see ya tomorrow." As the young girl hung up the phone, a flash of light from beyond her window caught her eye. "Ooh sweet! A shooting star!" Running to her balcony, Sari followed the light's decent and decided at a little extra luck wouldn't hurt tomorrow's plans. "Ha-ha, starlight star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight…"

Sari closed her eyes as she made her special wish. Had she kept them open, she would have seen the shooting star appear to have split in two. One half shown strong and brightly as comet and continued it's flight through the air, while the other large dark piece outlined like a free faller landed in the waters of Lake Eerie.

******

**Morning**

Detroit Michigan, the world's leading manufacture of automatons and robotic technology was preparing for its annual robotics' fair. A day in which the people celebrate the technological advances their fair city have made and to their appreciation to their 'mechanical partners' for all their hard work in their everyday lives. None could have been more excited about the arrival of the fair than the children of Detroit. Every year brought newer, faster, and more exciting rides. However this year would be the most exciting one yet because this year the people of Detroit will have their huge mechanical heroes attending the festivities.

Near the fairgrounds, people have been cleaning and clearing the lot where the fair would take place. Heavy construction machinery could be seen assembling the complicated rides, the staff workers were putting up the game and snack stands, and a huge portion of the park was being set up for the annual robotics' show. In the distance one yellow compact car with a solid black racing strip rode up to the of a road hill overlooking the area. A small eight-year-old child with red pigtails got out of the driver's seat of the automobile and with minutes the vehicle transformed into the Autobot known as Bumble Bee. The two friends began to slowly make their way towards the site.

From his chest compartment, Bumble Bee pulled out a small barrel of coolant he 'borrowed' from Bulkhead's stash. "So, is this 'Fair' like Five Banners Rollercoaster Kingdom?" He asked as he punctured the top of the barrel with a narrow motor funnel and began sucking on it like a straw.

"A little. Its smaller, has fewer rides, but with lots more food." Sari explained as she glanced up at her best friend. He could tell by looking at her eyes that she really wanted him to see this place. "It's special because it only comes around once in a while. Usually for special occasions."

"Is there a special occasion coming up?" He asked casually as he made sure his stride matched her much shorter one.

She was thinking of waiting for the day of the fair to tell him and the others, but she was just too excited. "This time the fair is going to stay for a whole month to celebrate the day you guys first saved Detroit!"

"Hey that's right! We've lived on Earth for nearly a whole 'stellar cycle' now." The trials they went through seemed so long ago, now. "The anniversary of when we first met is on the next 'Deca cycle'!" {_Stellar cycle = year / Deca cycle = month_}

"Yep! And the fair is going to open in three weeks. Right on our anniversary!" She explained as he picked her up to sit her on his shoulder. She could already see the tops on the bigger rides as they approached. "I was thinking we'd check out the fairgrounds, see what ride we'll be able to go on together, what games everyone could play, maybe even convince the workers if you guys can put on a performance and show off your powers."

"Sweet!" The overgrown glory hound began doing a series of poses as if he was modeling. "I love being in the spotlight! I can just hear the roar of the crowd now!"

_**KA-BOOOOM!!**_

The sudden explosion was powerful and complete unexpected. The ground erupted as debrie flew and glass shattered. The Autobot was sent flying and came crashing down hard eight 'human' yards away from the smoking crater that had appeared right where he had once stood. He had managed to shield Sari from the impact as his body bounced and rolled until he finally rolled onto his back and stopped. Sari stayed very still between his arms and chest plate for a few moments until her wits came back.

She saw her friend's pained expression as his system franticly tried rebooting. "Bumble Bee! Are you alright?! Wake up! Say some…"

The first thing he saw when his 'ocular sensors' activated and focused was an oncoming electrical attack. "LOOK OUT!!" He grabbed the child and scrambled; barely managing three running strides before once again getting thrown off his feet by the shockwave of the impact.

Sari tried hanging on to her stomach until the torturous rolling stopped again. Bumble Bee stayed awake this time and slowly uncurled himself incase his little friend might have been injured. The two of them whipped their heads towards the sky at the loud whirling noises above and saw the culprit of their assault.

Sari recognized the design on the flying machine easily. "That's a military helicopter!"

"Why's it shooting at us?!" The green chopper swooped in low. It bent in half. The tail split and became legs, the four blades folded into two and reformed into arms, and finally a head appear from the new torso the chopper body made. The yellow Autobot easily recognized the hard edge features of the head. "Wasp…?"

"Bumble bot!!" The green robot thrust his arms out. His hands ducked into his arm compartments and a pair of spark plug-like stingers popped out in their place. Soon after a huge burst of electricity shot out from the weapons and aimed right for the Autobot.

Bumble Bee jumped and rolled out of the way, transforming into his vehicle mode with Sari inside of him and dashed away to put some distance between them and the attacker. Stopping just in front of the fairgrounds the compact car transformed back into robot mode and all but shoved the child away from him. "Sari, run! Get out of here!" He turned and faced his attacker in time to grapple servo to servo with him. Humans ran screaming as the metallic titans fought and struggled throughout the grounds. Many game stands and snack bars fell victim to the clash. "Wasp stop!! Can't we talk about this?!"

"Wasp not talk!" His voice was different from what the yellow Autobot remembered. The look in his ocular sensors showed clear that he was unstable. "Bumble bot not talk!" Their servos squealed and grind as they tried to overpower one another. "Bumble bot lies! Ruined Wasp's life with lies!"

As broken the speech pattern was, Bumble Bee knew the bot was speaking of their time in the Autobot camp of Cybertron. They both were training to become part of the Elite Guard until Bumble Bee accused and had Wasp convicted of being a spy for the Decepticons. {Boot Camp} The action was later proven to be a terrible mistake during their final battle with Megatron. _{A Bridge to Close}_

"I wasn't lying! I really did thought you were working with the Decepticons…!" A hotdog stand became crushed as he was pushed back a few steps. "I saw you shortly after I found out about the spy in the ally…!" The Ring Toss stand also was crushed underfoot when Bumble Bee managed to push Wasp back two steps. "The real spy found out and made sure I stayed focus on you!"

"Bumble bot lied about Wasp!" He forced the yellow Autobot to kneel on one servo joint as he continued to force him into an awkward angle. "Sent Wasp to stockades!" [_Servo joint = knee_]

"I was tricked!" He was strong. Much stronger than Bumble Bee remembered. "I-I'm sorry!!"

"Bumble bot not sorry!" Wasp threw his weight to the left forcing Bumble Bee to be thrown off balance and slide towards the Ferris Wheel. "Not sorry yet!!" The insane Cybertronian shot his stingers and hit the Ferris Wheel's support beams. People screamed as the structure came down flat side. Bumble Bee positioned himself and caught the wheel in its center.

The humans around him watched in horror. The Ferris Wheel had to be at least twice his size. "Go! Get out of AAArrrgh!!" Wasp shot the Kamikaze ride as well and had it fall on top of the Ferris Wheel; forcing Bumble Bee to kneel as he tried to steady the additional weight. "G-go… I can't… h-hold it much longer!" The people ran for their lives while the attacking bot advanced on his pinned opponent. Wasp noticed that his opponent wasn't even trying to lower the mass off him. He seemed to be waiting for the strange miniature creatures to move out of the way. Wasp soon took aim at the helpless Autobot with the intent of blasting him on sight, only to be interrupted by flying objects hitting him.

"Leave him alone!" Sari and some other kids were throwing anything they could get their hands on at Wasp. She had rallied them up hoping to distract him long enough so Bumble Bee could get free. However, when she looked up again after picking up another big rock, the crazy robot was towering over her and the other kids ran off scared. "Oh-o…"

Wasp tower over the girl, half wondering why this organic creature was interfering and half angered that it was interfering at all. He began charging one of his stingers and took aim. Sari screamed as Bumble Bee tackled the bot and slams him into the rollercoaster.

"Leave her alone, Wasp!!" If nothing else the yellow robot was going to keep him away from the girl. "She's has nothing to do with this!" The Autobot had to keep the escaped bot's attention on him if the humans were to be left alone. "I'm the one that thought you were a traitor! I'm the one that got you sent to the stockades! I'm the one you want!!"

Enraged, Wasp twisted and threw Bumble Bee up against the sturdy structure of the rollercoaster "Bumble bot ruined Wasp's life!!" Being reminded of that. Having it thrown in his face by the yellow robot was more than he was willing to take. "Bumble bot pay for ruining Wasp's life!!"

The Autobot could feel his system was on the verge of crashing from the constant physical abuse. "D-do what you want with me." This would be all over the news by now. The other Autobot would have seen this by now. He just had to hold out a little longer. "But leave the humans alone!"

This request seemed to have confused the green robot. "Wasp not want humans…" He threw Bumble Bee aside and had him landing hard on the asphalt. "It's Bumble bot Wasp want." Bumble Bee tried to clear his head as Wasp tore a lamppost off its base as he stalked closer. "Wasp punish Bumble bot…" Bumble Bee stood in time for the first hard swing to hit his chest plate and had him slamming against BMW. "Make Bumble bot pay!" The second swing caught the yellow Autobot upside his temple. He rolled twice and just lay still, faced up, where he landed. His system had completely crashed and left him vulnerable as the green bot advanced on him. This time with the broken, jagged end of the lamppost aimed at his mid section. "Make Bumble bot suffer!!"

"Alright that's enough!!" The angry amplified voice rang and caught Wasp's attention. "We have you completely surrounded!" Captain Fanzone stood just behind a line of armed cops. The area was filled with a variable swat team with all weapons aimed at the green robot. "Step away from the Autobot and put your hands where I can see'em!!"

The witnesses Bumble Bee had protected in the fight had called the police for help. Sari was brought, protesting, next to Captain Fanzone by one of the officers that found her next to the destroyed BMW. She informed the captain of the rouge robot's insanity as she stuck her key into her cell phone to call the other Autobots. She was so scared she couldn't lock on to any of the frequencies properly. The child only hoped the cops could hold Wasp off until her friends arrive.

The deranged robot eyed the loud little man. "Stupid organics. Wasp not want you." Seemly annoyed that these tiny creatures kept multiplying and interfering with his objective, the bot tossed the lamppost aside. "Wasp want Bumble bot!" After this declaration, the warped minded machine stalked over to his motionless victim and forces him to his feet so he'd face the police. "Wasp take Bumble bot." All at once cables shot from behind the yellow robot and warped around him in restraint. "Finnish Bumble bot's punishment!" Right before their eyes the insane green robot transformed into a military helicopter and took off with Bumble Bee hanging from his bonds.

"Bumble Bee!!" Sari began running after the two on foot. The police went for their own cruisers and the chief went for his radio.

"All units, all units I need chopper back up!" Captain Fanzone grabbed his binoculars from his car as he spoke. "We got a hostage situation and the suspect is air born, headed south!" He judged the speed and the direction of where helicopter was going. "Repeat the suspect is air born and headed south! Send chopper back up now!"

"_**Sari? Sari, its Optimus."**_ The Autobot leader's voice ranged through the phone. The signal had reached them in time to hear the commotion. _**"What's going on?"**_

"Optimus!" She didn't keep her eyes off the helicopter. If she lost it, she'll lose Bumble Bee. "Optimus, he took him! He took Bumble Bee!!"

"_**Who took him?"**_

"Some crazy robot!" The chopper was getting further and further away. "I think it was a Decepticon! He attacked us on our way to the fairgrounds!!" The squealing of tiers had her jumping as a yellow car stopped next to her. Captain Fanzone opened the passenger door.

"Kid! Get in and give me that phone!" Sari did what she was told and buckled up as the Chief of police speed down the street. "Prime, this is Captain Fanzone. Your friend, Bumble Bee, just got abducted by what we think is another Deceptcon." Sticking his head out temporarily, the chief spotted where the helicopter was heading and made a series of turns until the car was driving right behind it. "I'm giving chase, and called for air support, but I don't think it'll be enough."

The Autobot weren't picking up a Decepticon signal at all from their base. _**"Where is he headed now?"**_

"South, southeast. I'm following on Victory Blvd." He paused to determine wither or not the chopper was going to change directions. "At this rate we'll be close to Sumdac Towers."

Back at the plant the Autobot had switched to their vehicle mode and were already heading out into the streets. _**"We're moving to your position now."**_

******

_**Up town Detroit**_

Three police choppers had been dispatched and were heading towards the target's current location. Moving in the flying V formation the three choppers sped through the air to intercept the rogue helicopter. It wasn't long before they caught up with the military chopper as it maneuvered around building with its hostage hanging from the cables.

"Suspect in sight." During the approach, one police chopper broke off from the V to get around at its flank. "Hostage is visible."

"Drive'em towards the lake and engage'em there." Fanzone directed from his position at Sumdac Towers. If he guessed right they would fly over head any minute. "Do what you can to force the chopper down, but do **not** harm the yellow robot."

Wasp flew through the air with his prisoner around several skyscrapers before suddenly getting dived at by a police chopper. He evaded only to be cut off by two more. The sky was alive with the sounds of whirling blades and sniper fire as the police shot blanks to drive the military chopper towards the lake. The four flying machines went through a death defying series of dodges, dives, loops and circles. There were near misses, twists and turns that were too close for comfort, even a dangerously low to the ground chase that sent the citizens running for cover, but still the mechanical kidnapper evaded capture.

The Autobots arrived in time to see that a virtual dogfight taking place in the sky. The Military chopper had turned the tails on the police air units and was trying to either shoot them down or ram them out of the sky. "It's no good. The police can't overpower the helicopter." Optimus stated as the three air units regrouped and began retreating with the military chopper right behind them.

The swift ninja bot jumped up onto a nearby building and caught the direction of the chase. "They're leading it towards Lake Erie." Prowl stated from his position on the rooftop.

The other immediately switched back to their vehicle and resumed the chase from the ground. "Bulkhead position yourself near the edge of the lake." The fire truck ordered the green police SWAT car next to it. "The rest of us will drive the helicopter to you. The nano second its in range, bring it down!"

Prowl began the assault by throwing his exploding shuriken; having them detonate before reaching the helicopter to drive the chopper in the right direction. Ratchet shot several magnetic blasts around the flying machine; making grabs for Bumble Bee while making it appear that the helicopter was the true target. Wasp twisted and swayed trying to get away from the onslaught of attacks. As the helicopter tried swerving around a building, Optimus pole-vaulted from a rooftop and managed to grab a hold of Bumble Bee's bonds. The chopper violently struggled to hold its altitude while the Autobot leader used his added weight to force steer them into Bulkhead's path. Using his ax, Prime began to cut at the cords as Bulkhead took aim with his wreaking ball and fired.

Wasp felt the shift in the bonds at the same time he heard the launch of the oncoming projectile. With an enraged yell the helicopter did a suicidal whirl of a turn and managed to fling Optimus in front of the cannonball. The two collided hard, forcing Prime to let go of Wasp and began falling towards the streets below. Ratchet shot his magnetic blast and caught the younger bot in his field; slowing him down until he could righted himself and land on his feet. Bulkhead retracted his wreaking ball fast before it could destroy any of the populated buildings. The police air units began to swoop in as the rouge helicopter showed sighs of losing control and attempting to land. As it ducked behind a skyscraper, the air units split and circled both sides ready to surround the chopper; only to find that it had vanished.

"We've lost the visual!" The pilot reported as he and the other units scanned the area for the vanished chopper. "Repeat we have lost visual!"

"No!" Sari yelled at the report from the police radio. She alerted the Autobots and had them regrouped out front of Sumdac Towers where she informed them what had happened.

"There's still a chance." Optimus began making adjustments to his head gear until a holographic map appeared right in front of his face. "If we can just lock onto Bumble Bee's energy signature, we'll still be able to track them." Soon all the other Autobots were checking and adjusting their own tracking equipment until the signal was found. "Got it! Everyone transform and roll out!"


	2. The Rescue

*****

_**Chapter 2**_

Night was falling on the city of Detroit and all were preparing to turn in for the night. As the sun cast the sky in a spectrum of orange, magenta, and ever growing violet a sudden bright and distant glow flicker on the small island out in the middle of the bay. It moved like someone walking through the trees, holding a lantern. Yet there were no features that could be seen through the golden light. It moved through its surroundings with ease like the native animals of the island until it came to the beach facing the city. _'Something is wrong.'_ It sensed fear coming from somewhere across the waters. And pain. _'Such terrible pain…'_ Could something be calling out to it?

Driven by the feeling of being needed, the light began to hover over the sand. It quickly flew over the still waters like a streak. Pulling upward, it flew over the city until it shone high in the sky like a star. Feeling for the silent call the light slowly descended towards the city streets.

******

**Bad Streets of Detroit**

They drove and searched for hours, following the faint signal until the Autobots came to a lonely corner of Detroit. The streets were dirty with litter and were in badly needed of repair. The street light glowed dimly with old bulbs that needed replacing making the surrounding buildings look condemned and abandoned. Captain Fanzone recognized the area well enough, and didn't like the idea of Sari being there at night; even if she was riding with Optimus Prime. It wasn't long until they all finally stopped just outside of a dark, rundown building. The Autobots transformed into their robots modes as the police captain parked next to them.

Bulkhead didn't like the looks of the building at all. "Bumble Bee's in there?" It reminded him too much of a horror movie they've all watched earlier back at the plant.

"Yes." Ratchet checked his tracking system and found the faint signal was strongest there. "As faint as it is, he's energy signature's coming from that warehouse. Still not picking up Wasp's energy signature, though." Although his sensors were the most sensitive to picking up these signals, the old med bot frowned at the fact he was only receiving one. "Something might be trying to jam the signal."

"This isn't good." The burly police captain narrowed his eyes once he recognized the building he was looking at.

Prowl was also feeling uneasy and caught the human's disapproving statement. "What is it Captain?"

"That's a marked Chop Shop." He studied the building one last time before looking up at his mechanical companions with a very serious look. "It's a place where stolen vehicles are taken to be stripped down of their parts and sold off piece by piece." For all his years of the force, the shocked expression on their faces was no surprise, nor was it different than telling a family that their child had been kidnapped. "My people have been watching it for months waiting for the jerk in charge to show up."

If machines could pale, the captain was sure the Autobots would have. No doubt they understood this place to be some kind of butcher shop for their kind. "All right, everyone surround the building." Optimus drew out his ax. The others took it as a sign for the others to draw out their own weapons as well. "We'll split into two groups and come in from the front and rear of the warehouse."

It was decided that Ratchet, Bulkhead and the captain would enter from the rear while the others went in through the front. There was a silent confirmation between Optimus and the police captain that it wouldn't be safe for Sari to be left alone outside; so she rode on the Autobot leader's shoulder. Considering the age of the building itself the garage doors open surprisingly well. Proof, that it was indeed being used for something. It was much darker inside than it was outside. Machinery, tools and old car remains were all casted in shadows and all was quiet. Too quiet.

"Ratchet. Bulkhead. Status report."

"Nothing on our end." Being reminded too much of his experience in the Great War; Ratchet scanned his section carefully. "Could be he's been expecting us."

"Keep on your guard." Feeling that too much time was being taken, Prime carefully took the child from his shoulder and handed her to the ninja-bot. "Sari, stay with Prowl. I'm going ahead and try to lure Wasp out into the open." The slim black robot had her clinging close to his neck and drew out a second of his suriken. The others saw their leader walk out into the open and waited for something to happen. "Wasp! This is Optimus Prime! By the authority of Cybertron, release Bumble Bee, come out and power down!"

Everyone one waited for what seemed like hours before Bulkhead decided to the break the silence. "I don't think he's here."

Though he whispered it, Ratchet shushed him quickly. He waited another beat until he was sure nothing was going to happen. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this." His checked his energy tracking system again and frowned deeply at the readings. "Bumble Bee's energy signature is getting weaker."

Captain Fanzone noticed the light switch on the wall and, with his weapon poised and ready, slowly backed up to it. "I'm hitting the lights." Not three seconds after the warning, the lights shone dully.

The interior was filthy. Dull walls of stripping paint were on all sides with only the dirtiest of narrow horizontal windows to view from. Tires were stacked high in columns in nearly all of the corners. The heavy shadows gave the car parts an eerie and sickening look to the Autobots. Chains hung from the ceiling, some with visible hooks, some engines hanging from them. Skeletal structures of stripped cars could be seen near the end of the assembly line where pools of oil settled underneath the pile. There was one still on the belt that had gone midway through the stripping process.

Bulkhead easily cringed at the sight of the stripped vehicle on the assembly line. "Auugh! I think I'm going to blow a gasket!"

"Keep it together, Bulkhead." With effort Prime ignored the feeling in his own circuitry. From what he was looking at, the tools were recently tricked out with what looked like energon based modifications, the only thing that could really damage Autobot alloy armor. It was clear Wasp would have done a lot of damage to the little yellow bot in a place like this. Then he saw the arm. "Bumble Bee?"

It was gray, indicating that his power was either dangerously low or shut off entirely. The Autobot leader rushed forward, grabbed Bumble Bee's arm and began to pull him free… Only Bumble Bee wasn't attached to it. Shocked to his very core, Optimus jumped back, dropping the severed arm to the ground where it clattered loudly.

This first thing Sari saw when she turned at the sound was the terrified looked on Optimus's face. "What was that?!"

Hearing the small voice made the Autobot realized that the child was still there with them. "Sari, don't look!"

"What is it?! What's going on?!" Through, Prowl was quick to turn and block her view; what she saw form her new angle was much worse. "BUMBLE BEE!!"

Everyone else whipped their head in the same direction. Across the room, was a large electromagnet with piles of scrap metal surrounding it. He was underneath it all, prompted up against the generator in a reclining position. Gray as the pile of worn pieces of scrap metal that was thrown on him; it was hard to tell where he started and where the junk ended. His head was thrown back and left heavily tilting to his right while his left temple sported a deep dent. Small cracks seemed to grow from the dent and onto his face. As they dug him out they found that his legs were more or less ripped off. Wires were exposed and hanging from inside the jagged remains of his leg joints and from the socket of where his left arm used to be. His chest region was completely exposed, showing where the armor was cut into and stripped off, and where his internal circuitry was smashed in and more wires were ripped out. In the center of all that twisted metal was small frail orb of light behind a dented protective dome, flickering like a dying flame.

"He's spark chamber's been damaged!" Immediately Ratchet opened his own chest compartment and pulled out his jumper cables. The badly dented area made it nearly impossible to find the right knobs and bolts to connect the pliers. "It's barely supporting his life force!" His readings gave him a full diagnostic as it tried to stabilize his core. "Sari, try using your key!"

"I'm trying!" had been trying since Ratchet attempted to open the spark chamber more to connect the jumper cables. However all she received where the sounds of a choking engine. "Wake up! C'mon Bumble Bee, wake up!!" More choking sounds could be heard as she tried turning the key harder. "Why isn't this working?!"

"The All Spark…" Prowl's memories raced by to that day when it was Optimus that nearly faced permanent shut down. "The All Spark was present before with Optimus." It had chosen to revive the bot after Sari tried using her key. "The key must need a stronger charge."

"Then lets get'em back to the plant!" Bulkhead suggested immediately and tried to get at his little buddy. "Maybe the shards could…"

"The damage to his spark chamber is too extreme." Ratchet's voice stopped the younger Autobot. "He won't make it in time."

"No…"

Optimus began to pick the child up; to shield her from the sight. "Sari…"

"NO!!" desperate, Sari jumped away and scampered over to her fallen friend's chest and used her key to force open the compartment and reveal the nearly extinguished spark. She jammed the key into the 'ignition' hole and gave it several hard twists. "Com'on! Com'on !" The choking, stuttering sound was all that came. Shocked she pulled the key out and stared. "I'm not going to give up and neither are you, Bumble Bee!!" She practically slammed the key, not into the ignition looking hole, but just inside the chamber just below the spark. "**WAKE UP****!!**"

Startled by her scream Bulkhead backed into the old compacting machine at the end of the conveyer belt. Something jiggled and rolled off the top of the assembling machine. It fell and bounced off Bulkhead's head and was ringing lightly as it caught the light. An All-Spark crystal. At the same moment the mysterious light shot into the room and collided with fragment. All once the object suddenly exploded into an enormous flash of light.

"A piece of the All Spark!" Prowl recognized the shard as he was nearly blinded by the sudden light.

The light from the shard was different. Besides its normal bright blue glow, it was incased by a golden light. The intensity of it made it impossible for those around to see it. The light streamed down like a waterfall towards the key and into the chamber. The small blue orb absorbed it like water and grew with its golden glow. Sari managed a peek through her strained eyes, just enough to see the rather large piece of crystal inside the golden orb glow brightly before Bumble Bee's mechanical form went from a lifeless grey back to his bright yellow. The surrounding compartment glowed and reformed to its original condition and shut close. Moments went by and soon a soft moaning emanated from the still robot.

Ratchet noticed that although the small bot's chest region was healed the rest of him was still badly damaged. "That won't be enough pull him out of this!" Knowing vehicle mode will be faster, the old Great War veteran transformed into his ambulance mode. "Load him up, stat! I'll get him back to the plant!"

Knowing that Wasp was still at large, Prime turned to his largest teammate. "Bulkhead, take Sari and go with him." Plus he knew the two would have wanted to leave with Ratchet. "Prowl and I will stay here and see if we can find any more of his parts to bring back."

He watched them leave. Never in his entire Cybertron service career has the young leader ever seen anything so horrible. What was worse, it happened to one under his charge. "Hey." Captain Fanzone's voice pulled him from his depressed thoughts, "This a piece?" in his hand he held a large cog. "It looked pretty new among the scrap."

"Y-yeah, that's one." Seeing a good sized wooden crate, Optimus took it, emptied it of its contents and placed the piece safely inside. "Thank you, Captain Fanzone."

"I can't believe a place like this even exist here." Prowl scowled at the worn machinery of the 'disassembly' line as he made a careful sweep of one of the junk piles. Those that belonged to his comrade had regained their natural color. "Earth has always seemed filled with such natural beauty…"

"What can I say?" The police captain was sorting through another pile nearby. Studying each piece as he determined how old or how fresh they were. "There are two sides to everything." Through the dirty windows the sound a sirens could be heard and soon lights of red, blue and white were flashing outside the compound. "I've radioed my boys to tape off the area and come in and help." He stated at the bots' confused expressions.

"What?" Prime stared down at the human in shock. "But if you… the car thieves…"

"Yeah, this'll drive'en into hiding for a while." The burly human shrugged off the fact. He'd seen enough in his day to know how and when to postpone a sting. "But the dirt bag's got more than one. We'll just have to wait him out."

Prowl gave a nod of agreement when his leader glanced over at him. "We'll help out in anyway we can." It was the very least they could.

"Appreciate it. But I think you're friend's going to need you guys more." As he locked eyes with Optimus as his people began entering the building and fanning out to the scrap piles. "Don't know about you robots, but something like this leaves a real bad impression on us humans."

Morayma N. Rodriguez ©2008


	3. The Discovery

*****

_**Chapter 3**_

Darkness… All around him was darkness. No light… no sound… no living thing anywhere… no memory of how he came to be here… Just a silent void with no form of substance… Yet, there was another presence beside his own… Though he could not see or hear it; he could feel it. As if it was coursing through him. Strengthening him. Merging with him. Something from within him was changing. Adapting. Beckoning him to let go… To give up his control... and he couldn't resist.

**The Plant**

The sun had long since set when Optimus and Prowl made their way back to the plant. They arrived to find Bulkhead pacing back and forth in the living area while Sari had dozed off on the beanbag chair she kept there during the time her father went missing. When the two changed back into their vehicle modes, Optimus had a wooden crate with him. She woke up to the sound of the two transforming back into their robot mode with a bit of a jolt.

"It's just us Sari." The young Autobot leader placed the crate he was carrying down near the conveyer belt so she couldn't see the continents within. "It's getting pretty late. You should be home."

"I just wanted to make sure Bumble Bee was okay." The poor child hasn't seen her friend or the medical bot since they've disappeared into the infirmary room of the plant. "I called my Dad and told him where I was."

Prime picked her up so that they could be at the same eye level. "Don't worry. Ratchet the best there is. He'll pull Bumble Bee out of this." As if responding to a cue in a play, the old med bot emerged from the confines of his infirmary. "How's he doing Ratchet?"

"Apart from a full body make over, he'll need a lot of fine tuning to his internal circuitry." His tone was lighter than it could have been as he wiped servos on an old blanket he used as a rag. "It'll take a while, but once that's out of the way, Sari's key should take care of the rest." His smile was full of confidence. "The jump start he got from the All Spark fragment and the key repaired most the damaged to his spark chamber and the surrounding cogs; so we won't have to worry about that."

"That's good to hear." And a huge relief, "This also means we're going to have to keep a sharp look out for Wasp." Optimus turned so that he faced every remaining member of his team and had their full attention. "If he finds out Bumble Bee is still online, he might come after him again."

Prowl had come to that conclusion himself. In the time they've all shared on their adopted home planet his had learned to fully value and appreciate his team. No matter how annoying. "It might be necessary to move him to a safer location until he's fully repaired." And to provide a safe haven until the insane robot was captured. In all his training and battles he too had never seen anything like what had been done to the little yellow bot. "Perhaps, outside the city or maybe on Dono-bot Island."

"I'll keep it in mind incase the worst happens." Though Prime would much rather have everyone close by where he could keep an eye on them. "Right now, let's just focus on Bumble Bee's repairs." He took everyone over to the crate he and Prowl brought with them. "Thanks to Captain Fanzone, we were able to find most his armor, servos, cogs and smaller circuit boards. There might be a few missing pieces, but the authorities have already agreed to help find whatever is left."

"Looks to me like everything's here already." Ratchet took a quick study over the parts in the crate. "But it wouldn't hurt to make sure. In the meantime let's get to work."

*****

**Hours Later**

They've worked through the night in silence. Optimus kept an eye on the main computer incase there was more trouble and scanning on every level possible to locate Wasp before someone else got hurt. Bulkhead moved between helping Prime with the scanning and watching the monitor that gave the readings on his best friend's energy levels. What he really wanted to do was get his servos on Wasp and pay him back 110% for Bumble Bee. Prowl and Sari assisted Ratchet with the repairs. Sounds of tools humming and buzzing could be heard as parts were reattached, along with sparks flying as joints and metal limbs were forged together again. Finally after hours into the 'surgery' Ratchet gave the okay for Sari to use her key and finish the job. She released the breath she'd been holding when the sound of an awakening engine filled the room and the bright glow of healing light engulfed Bumble Bee's still form. Whatever small detail they missed could be seen or heard being repaired or modified until at last the yellow robot showed signs of awakening.

"Welcome back kid." Ratchet looked down at the small robot with a gentile sympathy that was rarely shown now a days. He noted that the young robot's response time was slower than normal and made it a point to check his system one more time.

"You had us all worried little buddy." Bulkhead stated as he watched his best friend slowly moved his head to see where he was standing. He jaw was raised higher than usual to show that he was grinning down at the little bot.

"Wasp, banged you up pretty bad." Optimus explained when he saw the confusion in the small Autobot. "Luckily, Sari got to you in time or your spark would've been extinguished."

"Lucky thing a piece of the All Spark was nearby as well." Prowl gently tapped the Autobot insignia on the smaller bot's chest to indicate where the piece's new location was now. "It gave the key the energy needed to bring you back."

The red and white robot scanned Bumble Bee's body to check that all was working properly. "There's still a lot of fixing to do before you're ready to see anymore action." Thankfully it all minor due to the fact some pieces did turn out to be missing. However the energy level was strong and stable. "But between me and Sari, we'll get you up and running again soon enough."

Sari was standing on off to his side on the table, ready to cry all over again. Worn out and exhausted from the horror of the day's events, it all felt like a very long and very bad dream had finally ended. "How are you feeling Bumble Bee?"

The yellow robot stared at the tiny child strangely. "Who's Bumble Bee?" he stared back at the shocked expression on her face with pure puzzlement. "Who are you? What are you?" He asked as he weakly scanned the area around him as well as the other beings in it. All of them were staring in the fashion; except for the red and white one whom soon had gritted his jaw and looked away. "Where am I?" Not liking his present condition, the yellow bot tried getting up and found it nearly impossible. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Easy kid." It was all too familiar. It didn't take much for Ratchet to see that the little Autobot was getting frightened. "No need to add anymore dents into you." Moving slowly, so as not to give the bot a reason to panic, the old medic had a strange device pop out of his left servo. "This is an EMP generator." He explained when Bumble Bee eyed the device nervously. "It'll temporarily shut you down so that I can start making repairs." Those large round optics were now wide. Clearly not liking the idea of being 'shut down'. "You won't feel a thing. I promise."

The small Autobot shifted in an attempt at shying away from the older bot and the device. He didn't know what was going on. Only that he was hurt in a strange place with strangers. In his timid retreat, he felt something clinked against him. One of the other bots, the slim black one, had him by his shoulders and was keeping him still so he wouldn't fall off the table. Or so he couldn't get away. He tried to struggle a little before he heard another clink coming from his chest were the tiny girl now stood. She had tears brimming in her eyes. Captivated by the look he almost didn't feel the first light blast of the EMP generator. He literally felt his body begin to shut down like he was falling asleep. He fought against the sensation as his body was being laid back down onto the table he was on. Through a blurred haze he saw the older bot adjust something of the device, then pointed at him again. The sensation was stronger and this time everything went black.

*****

**Two Hours Later**

Ratchet once again emerged from his made shift operating room, only this time he was looking and feeling his true age. "The damage was more extreme than I realized." He explained to his worried crew as they came to him for his diagnostic. "His memory core's been wiped clean. He doesn't know any of us."

"Can't you fix it?" Sari would obviously be to one to take this the hardest. "Don't you guys have, like, a backup system or something?

The old bot could only look into those young eyes as they began to leek again. "I'm afraid it's not that simple, kid." He glanced back toward the room where the yellow robot was deep in a stasis nap. "Whatever Wasp did, all but fried his memory circuits." He had to force himself to look back at Sari as he explained the situation. "Normally it would be a simple matter of getting his core to force a reboot. However, chances are Wasp may have used the electromagnet we saw at that chop shop to hold Bumble Bee down when he worked on him." Remembering the electrical scored marks on the yellow armor plating didn't make the report any easier. "That toppled with the fact that he used his stingers at full blast would have created an electromagnetic pulse strong enough to wipe Bumble Bee's memory core clean."

"Isn't there anything you could do for him, Ratchet?" Optimus asked though it sounded futile.

"There is a procedure that could work." A procedure he, himself, created and developed after what had happened to Arcee in the Great War. "However, I don't have the proper tools or equipment to do so."

Sari immediately thought of her home. "We could take him to Sumdac Towers!" It was the most advance building in the states. Surly her father's lab had what they needed. "My dad could…"

"No. I mean no disrespect to your father, Sari." Ratchet stated before the girl could argue. "However I doubt he'd have the proper support system needed to keep Bumble Bee online during the surgery." He glanced back to the room one more time, then face his fellow Autobots with had to be the most serious expression they have ever seen. "This procedure involves removing Bumble Bee's spark from its chamber, so I could get to the core. The only way to accomplish this is back on Cybertron."

*****

**Sumdac Towers**

Bulkhead had volunteered to take Sari home. Since the announcement was made she had fell very silent. He didn't think she was in any condition to walk to the elevator so he thought it best to deliver her straight to her room. He used his cannon ball to lasso the thick balcony beam above her bedroom window and elevated them to her balcony. He promise let her know if anything changed in the morning before leaving. Sari stood at her balcony for an hour as memories began playing in her head. Memories of their adventures together, of the battles they've fought in, and of the last fight and how sever the attack was. More tears spilled from her tiered red eyes as the full realization of her friend's condition sank in. She may very well never see him again.

*****

**Sari's Bedroom**

"Sari?" Her father came to check on her and found her sitting on her bed. Hugging her knees and crying into them. "What is it?" He went to her and sat down on the bed next to her. "Why are you crying?"

"Oh dad…!" Throwing herself into his arms, the child cried into his shoulder. "It's terrible!"

"There, there, Sari." Issac soothed as he tried to comfort his dear daughter. "Tell me all about it." He listened carefully as she tried to explain what had happened. Every sob grew thinker than the last until she finished her tale. "Oh my, that is terrible."

"I don't know what to do, Dad." She wiped angrily at her eyes as the image of a certain blue robot came to her mind. "That jerk bot, Sentinel, will try to take them all away if they ask for help. I know it."

Although he had never met Sentinel Prime, he had heard of the arrogant robot and that was an option Issac simply couldn't allow to be open. "What exactly did Ratchet said needed to be done to repair Bumble Bee?"

"He said he would have to take Bumble Bee's spark out to get to his memory core." Remembering just how fragile the orb really was back at the horrid chop shop had fresh tears streaming down her face. "And that he can only do it on Cybertron."

Issac could remember very well the weeks he had spent rebuilding Megatron's body in his lab. He learned quite a bit from the experience. "Hmm, and where exactly is the spark located?"

The very specific tone in his voice had her thinking and watching him hopefully. "In a little chamber in his chest."

"Hmm, if the core is behind the chamber…" Issac rubbed his chin in consideration. He still had files on Megatron's body saved onto his personal computer files. "Than perhaps there is one other way to reach it."

Morayma N. Rodriguez ©2008


	4. The Coping

*****

_**Chapter 4**_

It remembered nothing. Nothing of the world around it, nothing of the people in it, and nothing of the form it was in. Something felt unnatural about its current condition, yet at the same time it didn't. Much like waking up to a life you've never lived and yet knew how to live it. Like having a dream that was so real you couldn't tell you wear asleep to begin with.

There was such confusion… It clouded him to no end. So many questions floated around in his thoughts… _'What are these strange creatures?' 'What do they want?' 'How did he came to be with them?' 'Why did the smallest of them looked at him so?'_ Fear… it all but suffocated him. _'Do they mean him harm?'_ _'Were they the reason he was injured?'_ He didn't like the not knowing… He didn't like fear… He longed desperately for some shred of familiarity…

******

The days that followed went by without much incident. Since Wasp was still loose somewhere in Detroit, Bumble Bee was kept under constant guard and wasn't allowed to leave the plant. It was learned that he was having sever difficulty getting his body to move and function properly. His movements were very stiff and jerked occasionally when he tried something as simple as walking. Ratchet prescribed and supervised a rehabilitation treatment for the small bot and was able to, at the least; get him to do basic motor skills. The old medical bot had never seen anything like the little bot's case. Believing it was a side effect of the missing parts; Ratchet made a habit of revisiting the chop shop and the police station to see if anymore pieces were found. Those that were he immediately reattached to Bumble Bee.

Bumble Bee didn't like being closed in the way he was. He felt horrible trapped and would often just sit in a corner hugging at his knees. Being around strangers wasn't comforting nor did he like how they kept watching him. They never did anything to hurt or upset him, so they didn't seem to be a threat. Yet, he couldn't truly consider them friends and wished he had something close by that was familiar. However, without any reason, other than the fact that he was still 'injured' and needed rest, the small bot couldn't really protest. He knew of no other place to go.

It wasn't easy for the other Autobots to be looked upon by their teammate with such quiet uncertainty and uneasiness in his wide ocular sensors. Each of the Autobot dealt with the situation in their own way. Optimus took it upon himself to scowl the entire city and its outer limits several times a day in a search for Wasp. He didn't want to risk the remainder of his team, but mostly, after seeing what the insane bot was truly capable of, couldn't bring himself to ask any of the others to do it. Prowl and Bulkhead volunteered to aid the police in their search for the car thieves and their leader. The police had given a statement to the media that a victim of a brutal assault had been found in the 'abandon warehouse'. A fact that all parties hoped would fool the thieves into a false sense of security.

Sari, on the other hand, made it a point to visit almost everyday and find out what was going on. Her insistency of getting close to the yellow Autobot was always met with disapproving reluctance since Bumble Bee was just as afraid of her as he was of the other bots. However, she was determine and would bring things with her, like pictures to try and help jog Bumble Bee's memory. This near daily attempt was heartbreaking for the others to watch, but they didn't stop her, believing she wouldn't understand the permanency of a wipe memory core. Unbeknownst to them, Sari reported what went on with the yellow Autobot to her father, knowing he was thinking of a way to help.

*****

**Day 10**

**The Autobot base**

'_**We're practically giving them away!!'**_The large flat screen TV could be heard through out the plant as Sari entered. She had taken care to look around in every direction and even up into the sky before even opening the door. Today was going to be the day. _**'So come on down to Pete's RVs! Where Bigger is Better!!'**_There. She spotted her best friend sitting quietly on the huge concrete blocks that had been fashioned into a sofa. Though she couldn't see his face, he appeared to be bored with his head rested in his hands and his elbows where resting on his knee. Seemly watching the program in front of him, yet staring off into space at the same time. A quick survey of the room told the child that they were alone and would most likely be alone for quite some while. _"Perfect."_

"Hey Bumble Bee." Sari smile pleasantly as she made her way to concrete sofa. "How are you feeling today?"

He had gotten used to her seemly 'popping' in and out of sight by now and had determined she meant him no harm. She was still strange though. "Umm, okay I guess." Honestly, now that she had gotten closer, he had been looking rather lonely. Seeing someone to talk too seemed of perked him up a little. "Umm…"

"Sari." She offered when she saw he still didn't know her name.

"For what?"

"No, my name is Sari." She explained and was instantly reminded of the first day they've met. "Sari Sumdac." She urged when his confused expression didn't change. "Your best friend?"

"Best Friend?" That seemed to have grabbed his attention. "What's that?"

Caught off guard the child had to think about it. "Umm, a best friend is someone very special." She thought about all the time they've spent together around the city. "You hang out and have fun with them. Share things like snacks and hobbies." She thought about how eager he and Bulkhead had been to help her when she had to move in with them. "It's someone you can always count on when things go bad. And one of the best things is that you can have more than one."

"Oh…" he had sat quietly through out the explanation like a kindergartener learning his fist lesson. "Are we like that?"

"Yeah, we did lots of stuff together." She decided to try name several misshapes they've shared together. "Like the time we upgraded you with turbo boosters, or the time we went camping or when it was up to us to save the day from Swindle." Each example was answered with a negative shake of his head. "C'mon Bumble Bee, there's got to be something you remember."

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

"What, 'Bumble Bee'?" She answered after his conformational nod. "It's your name."

"My name?" He tilted his had at this discovery. None of the other robots really called him anything. It would have been pointless. "Really?" He said it himself, as if testing it. "Hmm, it doesn't sound like it…" He thought about it more, like a puzzle. "But it is sort of familiar."

"It's familiar, because it's your name." This obviously wasn't going to work out the way she wanted. She had to get him out of the plant before any of the others got back. It was time to change tactics. "You know, I think you've been coop up in here for too long. Let's go out."

The suggestion was met with surprise and nervousness. "Umm, the red and white robot said I needed to stay here and rest." The young mech would really rather not anger any of the bigger robots. The 'so **much** bigger than him' robots.

'_More like stay in quarantine'_ thought with a smile frown. "You've been 'resting' for almost two weeks." Since he didn't look like he was going to pick her up, she climbed her way up the concrete sofa. "What you need is some fresh air and a little exercise." She boldly went over to his right servo, got a hold of his digits and gave it a tug. "C'mon, we're going to hang around the city for a bit."

He timidly tried taking his fingers back; gently so as not to hurt the tiny being. "I don't know…" The idea was intriguing, he had felt closed in for the longest time, but the small bot still wasn't sure. As strange as everything and everyone was around him; he felt somewhat safe and secure where he was.

"Relax." She was pulling on his hand now with both of her arms. "You'll be with me." She urged as he tried lifting his hand to get her to let go. She only held on and hanged from his digits until she managed to pull her leg up and over his wrist. "You can trust this face. Can't you?"

All at once his eyes changed. They widen and glowed yellow. Sari watched awestruck as he just sat there like he was in a trance. _'You can trust this face. Can't you?'_ That statement. The voice echoed in his head. An image of the girl in that same position played in his mind. Then just as suddenly as it came; it was gone. His eyes were normal again. He blinked confusingly and looked around. Then he looked back at the girl. He then, turned his hand over and brought up the other so that she could sit in them, the yellow Autobot studied her for a minute.

His expression went from curious to thoughtful. "Hmm," Then out of no where, he smiled. "Okay."

Sari's own smile all but split her face in half. "Great!" She literally jumped for joy on his palms, making him chuckle. _'He remembered something.'_ That was all she could think of at the moment. "Let's go!" Something she said made him remember something about her; and she wasn't about to lose this chance. "We'll visit all our favorite places." She mentioned a few as he started walking for the exit while carrying her. Hoping something along the way will jar his memory more. "Then, after that we'll visit my dad." That she was going to make sure of.

"Okay." Seeing her so excited and happy felt right. Really right. "What's a dad?"

Morayma N. Rodriguez ©2008


	5. The Outside

*****

_**Chapter 5**_

Have you ever experienced walking out into the sun for the first time in so long? To experience the outside world after being enclosed for what felt like years? That was how it felt to him. He somehow felt the rays of the sun wash over the shell, felt the warmth of it and he felt a clam he was sure he felt before. It felt safe… and so familiar… He was glad he decided to listen to… What was it again? …The 'Best Friend'…? Yes, he was happy he listened to the best friend and went to the outside.

******

The first thing Bumble Bee noticed was how large the buildings were compared to him and how the roads rose from the ground into those looping highways. When he asked his tiny guide why the ground was growing into the sky, she made a happy giggling sound and explained that it was easier for people to get around the city that way. He saw many strange and colorful forms that reminded him of how the big robots folded into similar forms. A few of which screeched at him and nearly scared him into falling over, and some even yelled at him.

"Get off the road ya scrap heap!!" an angry driver honked as he sped passed the yellow mech, nearly side swiping his leg.

The angry noise had the already timid little bot trembling. This, of course, made the best friend sitting on shoulder shake a fist in the air and yell back at the speeding driver. "The speed limit is 45 you road hog!!" Realizing she probably scared Bumble Bee just as much as the driver, Sari quickly turned to her friend's head and petted his helm in comfort. "Sorry I yelled, but that guy was being a creep. Don't pay him any attention. Besides, you had the right of way."

"The right way of what?"

The second thing that had caught his attention was that the 'people' the red-headed best friend spoke of were all tiny! Though their sizes vary among themselves, compared to him they were all really small. Also there were a lot of them. So much so, that his walk became very awkward whenever they came up to a group. It almost looked like he was trying to walk 'tippy-toe' in order to avoid stepping on them. Which soon turned into an awkward yet obvious scared stance when one of the buildings, the Elementary School to be exacted, decided to ring and let loose a whole herd of 'people' around his guide's size.

"Its okay Bumble Bee." The eight-year-old tried explaining to her worried friend as he pretty much froze like a statue around group of even tinier people. "They'll just walk around you." Most of the children were excited to see one of the Autobots and began begging him to transform. Or rather, chanted for him to transform.

Thankfully, the mini crowd was soon dispersed by Captain Fanzone. He had noticed the gathering near the schoolyard and found the yellow mech cowering behind Sari, whom was trying to get the other kids to move on. It would have been comical if the Autobot hadn't looked so much like a small child cornered by a large group. The burly police chief knew about the amnesia and was quick to give the frightened bot a chance to escape under the guise that he was needed in a police matter. Sari, being quick to catch on, urged the yellow bot to follow the man quickly. Afterwards, the child tried reintroducing her friend to the captain in the hopes that some of their mishaps would bring about another memory. It didn't.

******

**Sumdac Towers: 2hrs. Later**

They visited Five Banners Rollercoaster Kingdom first, where Sari reeducated the young bot in the ways of the amusement park culture. When she tried to talk him into going on some of the larger rides that she knew his size would allow, regrettably refused, frightened by all the screaming. Then, they went to the city park. The more tranquil environment had appealed to the timid Autobot enough to allow himself to learn about games that his best friend said were his favorites. The Burger Bot restaurant was next were he learned of his tiny friend peculiar foods. Peculiar, because he couldn't understand how something that looked appetizing and be called 'junk'. Sari took him to many other places that had used to have been their favorite hanging spots and answered every question he had on their little field trip, gaining his trust and earning his admiration, until at last they made it to Sumdac Towers.

******

"Hello, my good friend. I am so happy you were able to come." Issac Sumdac, after receiving a call from his daughter, had walked up to meet them in the lobby, but stopped a respectful distance from the robot when he noticed a slight uncomfortable shift in stance. Obviously the robot was very cautious around those that were now strangers to him. "Considering what you have been through and from what Sari had told me of your recovery, I was worried you would still be too delicate to move."

"Umm…" Unsure of what he should say or how he was supposed to act, Bumble Bee just fidgeted with his finger and shyly looked away from the professor. "Hi?"

Professor Sumdac only smiled softly at this newly developed behavior. "It is alright. I am fully aware that you are unable to remember me." He slowly walked up to the yellow robot's leg and gave it a friendly pat. "But we're going to fix that now."

Naturally the yellow amnesiac tilted his head in confusion. "We are?"

"I set up an appointment for you." Sari explained while placing a comforting hand on his temple. Their day out revealed he was very cautious around new experiences now and could very well run off if he felt the least bit scared. "Dad's great at fixing mechanical problems. If anyone can reboot your memory circuits, it's Dad."

"I will certainly do my best." He offered his hand to the robot as if he were a child. "It is the least I could do after all you have done for my daughter and myself." Bumble Bee study the tiny hand for a moment. There was something familiar about this person. He looked at his little friend on his shoulder and after her encouraging nod allowed the 'Dad' to take his fingers. "Come along now. I have prepared everything we'll need for the appointment."

"Okay…" the shy bot responded as he slowly followed the small 'Dad' down the hallway. "What's an appointment?"

*****

_**Lower Assembly plant**_

Bumble Bee had been lead into the assembly room portion of Sumdac Towers. White walls rose high all around the huge room. Heavy equipment was being move, installed, or uninstalled all around them as Professor Sumdac lead his daughter to the elevator on the far side of the room. As it rose up to the top level of the room Sari watched as Bumble Bee came into full view below. The huge assembly line was reconfigured into a giant scanner and he was lying right on the belt.

"Your comfort is our top priority, my friend. If there's anything you don't like about the procedure, simply let us know and we'll try and accommodate you." Professor Sumdac called from his position at the main controls. "We will begin by scanning your internal alien circuitry and attempt to isolate the problem." Issac, himself, booted the system as his employees followed his lead. "Are you ready Bumble Bee?"

He was visibly trembling. Being laid flat on his back on the hard, cold, platform was making him very uncomfortable. Very… vulnerable. "Umm, i- is this g-going to h-hurt?"

"No, my friend. I assure you, it is completely painless." Issac programmed the commands and adjusted the levels as he spoke. "All this machine will do is scan your body. It is like taking a picture… only of your insides."

The Autobot wasn't too sure he liked the sound of that, but the 'dad' seemed so kind and sincere. "O-o-okay…"

Sari had never seen him this scared before. It was so unlike him. It was heartbreaking. "Please help him, Dad."

"Don't worry Sari. We will do everything we can." Issac placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders in comfort. "If you want, you can help by encouraging him through out the procedure." He pointed to the scanner itself in his explanation. "The scan will have to make several passes and having his friend near by will make the experience easier for him." As he had hoped, this bought a small smile to her face.

After a few last minute adjustments were made, the Professor Sumdac gave the signal. The scanners whirled to life with loud humming. The huge rectangular section began moving instantly, scaring the nervous Autobot. It moved over him, casting a thick shadow, until it paused at his feet. Then a red sheet of light, stretching all the way across the conveyer belt, shown straight down and the machine began to slowly make its way back over him. _'That noise…'_ The sound it was making. _'I… I c-can't move!!' _Panic was setting in. His vision blurred. The room changed. It was dark. Scary. _'I can't move!!' _He was chained down on to the conveyer belt. Blades. He saw blades nearing his legs.

Sari could see his eyes from the platform. They were glowing again like they did in the plant. He was remembering something again. Something bad, he was beginning to fidget and struggle in place like he was tied down. "It's okay Bumble Bee!" Sari's voice rang from the top of control station. Shattering the illusion. "It's just going to pass over you a few times!"

The white room was back now. He looked up at her in confusion, as if he didn't understand her words. Then the humming got a little louder. He turned back to find the light was up to his chest. _'It doesn't hurt?'_ He flinched a little when went over his head, but when nothing had happened he timidly opened one eye as it came back down and continued its journey. _'It doesn't hurt…' _The same routine continued for the next hour without pause.

"You're doing great Bumble Bee! Just hold still for a little longer!" Sari informed the Autobot after the sixth and final scanning began moving down to his legs. "We're almost done!"

The noise still bothered him a little. "O-okay." Other than that it really wasn't that scary. So he kept telling himself. Soon with a loud 'chooon' the machine was finished.

"Scanning complete, Mr. Sumdac." One of the many assistants began sorting through the data. "We're targeting and isolating the problem factors now."

"Good, thank you." Issac led his daughter back to the elevator as he continued to speak. "Let me know as soon as you find anything." The two rode down to the floor level as other workers moved around getting more equipment. "Well done my friend." The Autobot had prompted himself on his elbows as Sari ran over. "Now that wasn't so bad now was it?"

"N-no sir." Although it didn't hurt, it was obvious that he was relieved that it was finally over.

"You were great, Bumble Bee." Sari managed to climb up to Bumble Bee's shoulder and hugged his head. To which, he instinctively had leaned into the comforting gesture though at the time he did not understand it's meaning.

"Come now. We'll need to set up for the next step." The yellow robot stood up and followed the 'Dad' over to a corner of the room with Sari on his shoulder. "You and Sari can wait over here while we are setting up the necessary equipment. We'll call you once everything is ready."

"Okay." Bumble Bee crouched to sit, with his arms around his knees, at the corner and watched the progress before him.

Believing a reward was in order for being brave; Sari scanned the room until she found the barrels of motor oil that were kept in the lab for the equipment. "I think someone's earned himself some oil." The Autobot watched his little friend climb down into his lap and then onto the floor with the bold confidence he had grown to admire greatly. "Wait right here, I'll get you some."

"Okay." He watched her run off to the other side of the room to talk to one of the bigger 'dads' in white. "Hmm, I wonder what oil is? I hope it's something to drink. I'm thirsty."

"_**Ratchet to Bumble Bee, come in."**_

"Huh?" He looked down and around for whomever was talking. No one was near.

"_**Come in Bumble Bee."**_

Again there wasn't anyone there. "W-who's there?"

"_**Where the slag are you, kid?!"**_

The angry bark of a question had him trembling all over again. "W-w-where am I? W-w-where are you?" It sounded so close… Like it was right next to him.

Sari came over with a wagon looking device that was carrying a canister of motor oil and found the distressed robot trembling again. "What's wrong Bumble Bee?"

He turned quickly, relieve that there was someone there this time. "Someone was talking to me. Didn't you hear them?"

"No." She looked around, not liking that fact that someone had scared him. _'If someone was playing a trick on him, they're going to get it.' _"Who did it sound like?"

"Kind of like that old red and white robot." He paused to think about the voice more. "Only he sounded far away and kind of mad."

"That's Ratchet!" The tiny girl dropped the handle. She had forgotten all about the others. "He must be calling you on your com link."

"My what?"

Careful. She couldn't have him panicking now. "You have, like, a built in walky-talky in your head."

"I do?"

"_**Yes! Now answer the question!"**_ Ratchet's gruff and grumpy voice ranted in his audio receptors. The old Med-bot was stomping around back at the plant, irritated that his patient wasn't anywhere to be found and grateful he had the sense to have the yellow bot's com link set to answer a call automatically. _**"Where are you?!"**_

"Um… I'm with… um, Sarah?" Sari sighed exasperatingly at the mispronouncing of her name. However, before the child could correct him. "No… Sari…" She stared and slowly smiled. "I'm with Sari."

"_**Where?!"**_ Frustrated, the old med bot went to the main computer and booted up the tracking program. If it turned out the little bot was out in the open he was 'going out for motor fluids'. {_Robot for 'he'll go out for blood.'_}

"Ah, we're at…" He paused when Sari waved her arms around franticly, indicating not to tell. "We're, um, hanging around the city?" He took her thumbs up as a good thing.

Irritation could practically be felt through the transmission. _**"And where **__**exactly**__** in the city are you 'hanging around'?"**_ The computer was locking on to a certain sector.

"Um, I'm not really sure." That was true. The metallic amnesiac had no idea where this building was. He was following Sari. "See, first we went to this place with a lot of skinny road that grew into the sky and screaming people were riding funny boxes, only they weren't because they were scared and…"

"_**Aah, never mind. I've picked up your energy signature."**_ He began to isolate the exact coordinates on the screen. _**"Don't move from that spot. I'll be there in a few nano-clicks."**_

"Okay." The request sounded reasonable enough considering what he was doing at the time. "I won't be going anywhere anyway until my appointment's finish."

At that, the med-bot on the other line had to pause. _**"Appointment?"**_

One of the workers approached the two during this conversation. "Mr. Bee. We're ready for you."

Sari quickly scampered her way up the yellow robot's arm and up to his shoulder. "Okay, we gotta go now, bye!!" She managed to say as she quickly swatted the spot where Bumble Bee's com link button was, cutting off Ratchet's voice. "We-heh-ell let's get going! Can't keep everyone waiting." She urged the robot along. Now more than ever she had to get him through the appointment.

"Oh, okay." Already forgotten about the odd interruption, the yellow robot followed the worker back to the conveyer belt. "Hey Sari?"

"Yeah?"

"What's a 'walky talky'?"


	6. The Ignorance

*****

_**Chapter 6**_

The second test consisted of a thorough scanning of his head to determine for sure wither or not there was more damage to Bumble Bee's memory _**circuits**_. It was a wrap around scanning where small flying scanner droid hover around his head shining scanning beams all around his head unit. This unintentional invasion of his personal space brought more uncomfortable flashes that had the Autobot holding onto Sari like a teddy bear. All he understood was that she made the process easier to go through and made the bad flashes go away.

******

**Sumdac Towers: 3****rd**** level/Isaac's Private Lab**

Once the second step was completed, the group moved up to the third level of the Towers. The third test, to everyone surprise, was to taken in Professor's Sumdac's private laboratory. This step was a more physical check up that required a 'hands on' look at the Autobot's internal circuitry. Bumble Bee was laying on his front side while the humans carefully positioned themselves on and around his back. Sari's role in this step was to open the armor plating protecting his back with her key and allow her father and his people examine the interior.

"We need a little more light over here." One of the technicians called to his coworker whom was handling the spot light.

"Incredible." A second technician commented in awe at the sophisticated mechanics of their patient. "I've never seen engineering like this before."

"This feels really weird." Bumble Bee wasn't too sure if he liked all these 'dads' poking around inside of his back. He tended to slightly swift uncomfortable under them and flinched whenever someone poked something sensitive.

Sari did her best to keep him calm by petting his horns and helm. As it turned out, any kind of contact from her seemed to have a calming effect on him now. "Careful dad." She called up to her father after one prod made the mech's voice hitched.

"My apologies Bumble Bee." Isaac paused from what he was doing to look down at the bot's head. "It appears you've still have retain some minor damage to some of your circuitry." From what he could tell, some pieces were missing. "However it doesn't appear to be serious. Still, we will continue slowly and with care so as not to cause any unnecessary discomfort."

Sari didn't like knowing the fact her key had failed to fix everything after the surgery two weeks ago. "And when they're done, I'll make you feel better with my key." The young girl wiggled it in front of him so he could see. Resisting the urge to laugh when his optics crossed to see the key. "Okay?"

"Okay." Although he had no idea how the tiny, yet shiny device worked.

******

It was another half hour before anyone spoke. Sari's Tutor-bot had wandered into the lab looking for her and found the child standing on Bumble Bee's head trying to see what was going on. It positioned itself right in front of the yellow Autobot and started the day's lesson right there. It helped pass the time and Bumble Bee's new found curiosity made his little friend laugh through the whole session. He kept confusing the Tutor-bot with simple questions such as: 'What's a 'Washington'?' or when asked to split a fraction, 'Wouldn't that hurt?'

"Mr. Sumdac, I think I see an opening." One of the female workers drew her boss over to her discovery. "Right here sir. Under this big gyro."

"We might have to remove it to make sure." One of the other workers made the suggestion after feeling empty space just underneath it.

The professor pondered this as he the looked over the mechanical part. "Hmm, no, wait. Bumble Bee could move your upper servos above your head?"

"Huh?" The young mech only blinked at the 'dad' confusingly.

Sari quickly hopped down onto the conveyer belt and flopped onto her stomach like the robot. "Like this, Bumble Bee." She crossed her arms under her chin. Curious, he copied the position and found it to be more comfortable than the previous one he was in.

The movement shifted the gyro up towards his shoulders. Proving that it was actually a joint mechanism of some kind. "Good." The opening was in clear view but there was a second connected gyro. "Very good, now would you be so kind as to suspend you lower servos in the air?"

"How do I do that?" The yellow robot didn't understand any of terms the tiny man had used.

"Like this, silly." Sari bend her knees so her forelegs moved upward and then crossed her ankles in mid air.

"Oh." Again the Autobot copied the position until they were twins. "This is fun." He stated with a smile.

"It's also a game." It was cute seeing how easily he could be entertained now. "Its called 'Follow the Leader'."

"Really?"

The child couldn't help but giggled at his awed expression. "Yep."

"What's a leader?"

*****

**Sumdac Towers: 1****st**** level/Front Desk**

The late afternoon sun shone brightly, blurring the image of the vehicle that made its way up to Sumdac Towers. Inside, and throughout the wide lobby of Towers, there was only the single automaton secretary managing all incoming phone calls. She quickly and efficiently answered calls, transmitted them to the right branches, and, of course, placed them on hold.

"Sumdac Towers, please hold. Sumdac Towers, please hold and I'll connect you. Sumdac Towers, please hold." A large shadow spread over the operator robot. "Welcome to Sumdac Towers. How can I help you?"

*****

**Issac Sumdac's Private Lab**

The physical was finally over and the humans went to set up more equipment. "You've done very well, my friend." Issac complimented the yellow robot as he sat up. "Now we have just one more test to complete before the appointment is over. Then we will reschedule for your next examination."

"Mr. Sumdac, there's someone asking for you." One of the professor's many assistances approached him while Bumble Bee began to follow him to the next room. "It's the red and white Autobot."

"Oh, that would be Ratchet." Perfect timing. He could share his discovery with the med bot and gain a much more suitable assistant for the final test. "Yes, of course, send him in please."

"No wait!" Panicking, Sari grabbed Bumble Bee's hand, pulled and ran. "C'mon Bumble Bee!" Surprised and curious by the sudden change, the Autobot allowed himself to be lead away.

"W-where are we going?" He tried his best to keep his balance as she seemed reluctant to give his hand back.

"Outside!" She pulled him into her father's private elevator. She couldn't let Ratchet take him back now. Not when they were so close. "Uh, they're going to need to set up the heavy stuff now!"

"Uh, won't they need help?" He asked as they reached the 1st floor, just missing the med bot.

"No, no, they got it all under control." She had to find him a hiding spot. "Besides, you're the patient." Somewhere he'd feel comfortable and close by. "You're supposed to relax and enjoy the visit." Then she saw the back way exit of her home. She took him to and through the door and into the open area just behind Sumdac Towers. This was a place where a lot of the workers go to eat their lunches outside when the weather is nice. "Here we are!"

"Whoa…" They had spent the entire afternoon inside. The sun was setting in the horizon and had painted the sky with splashes of orange, gold, pink and light purple. They could see the lake from where they stood and saw it shimmering like an illusion. "Its so pretty!"

And the last place Ratchet would think to look. "You can stay right here." Knowing he'll do as he was told, Sari started to head back inside. "I'll come and get you when everything's ready." And only after she got Ratchet to listen. "Don't move from that spot, okay?"

"Okay." Liking the new view, Bumble Bee sat down to enjoy and reflect on the day.

Though he really couldn't remember, he was sure he never had such a great day. Getting to go outside, explore the city, meeting people, experiencing an appointment, and now he got to enjoy a colorful sky. All thanks to Sari. He really did enjoy hanging around with Sari; she was loads of fun. A little odd at times, but still fun. A hard worker too, seeing how she always seem to be running around getting him things, looking out of him, and making sure he was being taken care of through out the appointment.

As the little yellow Autobot sat there thinking his thoughts, he didn't hear the muffled metallic footsteps on the grass. Nor did he hear the slight grinding of metal joints rubbing against their sockets. Most assuredly, neither did he notice what had to be the biggest robot, he had ever seen thus far, tower over him.

"Vell, vell, vell, vhat do ve have here?"

The new voice had Bumble Bee turning. Right in front of him was a giant size robot. Beige colored armor dominated most of his body. There were some sections that were a shade of purple. Two long and narrow barrels were perturbing out from behind his shoulders. His face was long and narrow with red eyes, one bigger than the other.

"Hi there!" The little yellow bot gave a friendly wave along with a smile.

The sudden friendly greeting had the Decepticon, Blitzwing, blinking. "Umm, hi?"

"It's beautiful isn't it?" He nodded towards the scene in the horizon. "All those colors in the sky." It seemed all the more special now that someone was there to share it with. "Wanna join me? There's lots of room."

"Ah, sure?" Not really sure what to do, the Decepticon sat down next to the little Autobot. _'Vhat is dis Autobot up to?'_

*****

**Inside Sumdac Towers**

Professor Sumdac had been explaining about the discovery of the opening to Ratchet for the pass fifteen minutes. His enthusiasm made it impossible for the Great War veteran to get a word in. Especially when the little, round, scientist began talking about incorporating all this information into a way of restoring Bumble Bee's memory. That and the fact that Sari had already hidden his patient and made it obvious she was going to keep it that way until he listened to her father.

"As you can see from the scans, there is a narrow section just wide enough for one human to enter and reach the memory core without needing to remove Bumble Bee's spark." There were multiple scans on the screen showing the exact same opening. There was even a simulation how a human being could fix in the space. "Of course I would never attempt such a delicate procedure without the proper knowledge. Which is why I am hoping you will oversee the procedure with me."

"Hmm, it's risky." It had never been done before and the chances were still very slim. "One wrong move could do more damage than before." Yet the opportunity was right there and if the core could be reach from behind, "However, there may be a slim chance that it could work." He'd feel better if he could examine the data more closely.

"It would, of course, take time to make the necessary preparation for the procedure." Issac also wanted more time to study the data his people had collected. "However, I will have extensive research done to lessen the risk of errors and increase the chances of its success." As he explain his intention, he burned a copy of the day's finding onto a disc and handed it over to the medical bot. "You will, of course, have the final say in what will be used and how it will be carried out."

"Well Ratchet?" Sari watched the old robot carefully. "Will it work?"

"There's no guarantee, but it's the best chance we've got." And he was going to make sure he had all the information before anything else was done. "Where's Bumble Bee?"

*****

**Outside Sumdac Towers**

The two Cybertronians where sitting quietly, side by side, for the last thirty minutes. Throughout that time Blitzwing had been looking around and waiting for surely had to be an ambush. However nothing ever came. "Alright! Dis game has gone long enough!" His face had switched to the 'Hot Head' version as he deliberately stood to his full height and once again towered over the little robot. "I demand to know vhat you are doing here!"

"Hmm?" Bumble Bee only blinked at what he had just witnessed. _'Did his face just change?'_ "Oh, I have an appointment." He stated after he recovered from his thoughts.

"An appointment?" That same switching sound came as his face whirled around inside his head until it was completely black with red eyes and mouth. "Oh, hoo hoo! Did you catch a virus?"

The bizarre change had the little Autobot blinking at his companion again. "Nnoo, I don't think so..." Though he had absolutely no idea what a virus was. "Guess that's what you're here for, huh?" He was pretty sure it wasn't normal for a robot to have more than one face. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

Again Blitzwing's face changed back into the original 'Ice'. (If it is the original) "Um, yes." He tilted his head and studied the small Autobot. Something was definitely off about him. "Am I to understand zat, you don't remember?"

"Sorry." He tilted his head down and wore and apologetic smile on his face. "I don't remember much of anything really. That's why I'm here." He looked back up and found the giant robot looking rather interested in this bit of information.

*****

**Sumdac Towers: 3****rd**** Floor**

"I took him out the back way." Sari lead Ratchet down the hallway towards her father's private elevator. "I told him to wait there until…" The old Autobot's gasp had the child turning around. He was looking out the window and down into the yard.

"Blitswing!"

*****

**Outside**

Bumble Bee, following Sari's request to the letter, just sat there like an obedient child as the huge robot sneered and knelt down on one servo and pointed at him. "Autobot." Then he pointed to himself. "Decepticon." Blitswing then pointed back to Bumble Bee. "Slave." Then once again he pointed at himself. "Master." Figuring the titles were simple enough for the small bot to follow he continued. "You were built and programmed specifically to be my personal servant."

"I… was?" That didn't seem right to the smaller robot.

"Yes. I am your zuperior." Blitzwing, crossed his arm comfortably on his chasis and stood back to his full height. "Ve Decepticons have always been ze rulers of you Autobots." Figuring the Autobot wouldn't run, the Decepticon began circling him. "Ve are faster, stronger, and are able to take our battles into ze sky, vhereas you Autobots are strictly ground base units." He held his hands upward and shrugged his shoulders in his 'matter of fact' tone. "Ve vere simply built to be better. Zhat is vhy I am so much bigger zhan you."

Bumble Bee was feeling uncomfortable now. Yet he wasn't sure why. This bot wasn't doing anything other than just talking to him. "Hmm, well, that little person in the box said that 'bigger was better'." What he said was very close to what the Pete's RVs commercial stated that morning. "Guess I can't really argue with that."

"No. You can't." Alarmed by the sudden change in his voice, Bumble Bee found himself slammed into the ground and lifted in the Decepticon's iron grip. "Unt now my little 'Slavebot'..." Blitswing enjoyed seeing the expression on the puny Autobot faceplate as he tightened his grip. "Ve best be getting home." It was a beautiful mixture of confusion, fear, and pain at the pressure the grip on his mid section was causing. "You have a great deal of servitude to catch up on."

Blitzwing nearly toppled over as he got hit from behind. He turned a managed to dodge another magnetic blast and found himself facing Ratchet. "Put him down, Blitswing!"

"So sorry," Figuring that the other Autobots where on their way; Blitzwing's two cannons aimed and fired a blast of ice at Ratchet's feet, knocking him to the ground. "But we really must be going!" With a roar of his turbo boosters, Blitzwing took to the sky with his prisoner screaming for help.


	7. The Calvary

*****

_**Chapter 7**_

**Decepticons' Base**

The Autobot were once again forced to depend on their companion's energy signal to find him. Sari argued her way into joining the search, determined to help this time in anyway possible. The electronic trail lead led them away from the city and deep into woods. It wasn't long before they found themselves in the familiar territory of the destroyed Decepticon base. The original point of entry was still caved in from the first and last time the Autobot had infiltrated the base. On a calculated guess, Prowl scanned the are for the unique energy signature of the All Spark, knowing that the clones Starscream had made each had a small sample. {_Episode: A Bridge to Close_} Finding the signal lead them to the gaping crater on top of the hill and inside. On the far end of the area was a tunnel that had survived the cave in. Voices rang easily through the cave and reached the audio receptors of the Autobots as they carefully made their way into the tunnel. Once an opening was reached, the Decepticons could be seen spread out through the opening of the cave.

"Can't you build any faster?!" Lugnut, the largest of the Decepticons, and Megatron's most loyal minion, raged at two other bot as they were working. "Our glorious leader, Megatron, awaits us! We can't keep the Master waiting!"

Blitwing only shook his head warily and sighed at his companion. "If zhis is zo zimple to do, vhy did you zink it took zo long to build it in ze first time?" Blitzwing, Lugnut and the Contruticons were all on the far side of the cave working on what looked like a second spacebridge. The base of the machine was already assembled and the makings for the stabilizers were starting to take form.

"This ain't exactly the Ritz, pal." The shorter on the two Contructacons eased his piece into place. "It's not like there's an all day store of supplies out there."

"It sure would make this easier, though. Huh, Mix?" The taller Contructacon grinned as he steadied another beam into place.

"You got that right Scraper. Heh, ah, but watcha gonna do?" After wielding the two beams together, Mix Master patted his hands together to shake off some gravel. "Let's take a break."

"Good idea." Scraper followed his best friend's example and dusted of his servos as well. "Hey, ah, wasn't that new guy supposed to get the drinks?"

"You know what; you're right Scraps." Mix Master took a glance around the cave while he rubbed the top, hard hat shaped, portion of his head. "Now where'd that puny yellow compact get to?" After taking a minute to think it over, the burly Contructacon turn towards a darker corner of the cave. "Hey, pipsqueak, where's the oil!?!"

"There is he!" Prowl whispered as he pointed to a small tunnel. Bumble Bee was slowly walking out from it. He was bent completely over, supporting a large wooden platform with nine large barrels of oil balanced on top. He sported a few dents in his dusty armor, showing that he had been rough up during his stay with the Decepticons. Bliztwing and Lugnut took two from the edges as he walked by, making the platform tilt a little.

"Bout time. What kept yu'z?" Mix Master complained as the little server wobbly made his way to him and his pal. "Sheech, little guy like you ought to squeeze in and otta that hole in no time." He pointed his thumb back towards the tunnel in reference to a small entryway were barrels of Decepticon oil had been trapped from the cave in during their last battle with the Autobots.

"Ah, lay off em, Mix." Scraper lifted two barrels from the other edge of the platform as Bumble Bee passed him. The action evened out the platform and made it easier to walk. "It's his first day on the job."

"Yeah, you're right Scraper." The burly looking Constructacon accepted his barrel and tossed back a few gulps of oil while the little bot slowly made his way to the other Decepticons. "Besides this stuff is worth the wait. Thanks a lot Short Stack. Good work." Bumble paused for a moment to look back at Mix Master with a nervous grin. Though he and Scrapper intimidated the little bot greatly because of their height, they were the only two bots that had been remotely friendly to him.

"Hurry up!" The egomaniacal Starscream clone ordered loudly as he sat, frightening Bumble Bee into moving again. "A brilliant genius such as myself shouldn't have to wait to be served!" He picked one up from the middle as if it was the best one of the selection.

"Not me." The lying clone smirked smugly as he deliberately picked a barrel that made the weight of the platform uneven again. "I can wait all day." The little yellow bot struggled to balance the wooden tray on his back as he went through serving the Sunstorm, the suck up clone, and Skywarp, the cowardly clone.

"Aah! Don't spill on me!" The cowardly Decepticon jumped back and rounded the little robot wanting to stay away from the tilted end. Hesitantly he took a barrel from the platform.

"Yes, yes, wonderful!" The suck up cheered as Bumble Bee maneuvered around stalagmites with his still uneven load. "Such balance, such grace! It is an honor to be served by you." He selected the barrel from the very edge, saving it from falling. Finally all that was left was the female clone.

The female Starscream clone was working on a circuit breaker for the bridge when the little bot came over with the final barrel. "About time!" She purposely screeched to scare him and watch he desperately try to keep the final barrel from spilling over. Of all the other Decepticons there, she was particularly cruel. Enjoying his misery, she took the barrel and kept up the unsatisfied act. "Lazy good for nothing…" Seeing an opening, the female clone immediately put her leg out and tripped the Autobot. He fell with a short yell and landed heavily on an old worn base of a stalagmite, denting his left side as the heavy board added additional pressure. "That'll teach you." She stated, sending her fellow Decepticons into a fit of laughter, which made the poor little bot shake and whimper.

"Too many." Optimus took a quick head count and calculated the distance between the enemy bots. "We're going to need a distraction if we're going to get Bumble Bee out of there and destroy that spacebridge." Suddenly Prime noticed something tiny and clad in yellow, rushed by his foot. "Sari!" The Autobot whispered as she scampered from on stalagmite to another making her way closer to Bumble Bee. "Sari, come back here! Sari!"

"Psssst." Bumble Bee glanced around at the sound. Hoping he didn't break anything. If he did, it meant another beating. "Pssssst! Bumble Bee!" The call of his name was coming from behind him and towards the cave. "Over here!" Sari was hiding just inside the cave waving to get his attention. The child quickly shushed him when she saw he was about to call out to her.

The female clone noticed the Autobot just sitting in the middle of the room with his hand on his dented side and glancing back at the small cave. "Slavebot! Another canister of oil!" Bumble Bee shrank back fro the yelling but took the chance to run back into the tunnel and away from the mean giant robots. "And be quick about it!"

He duck just inside the entrance the moment he reached it. "Sari! Sari you found me!" The yellow robot whispered as he scooped his tiny friend up and held her to his head. "Please help me! I'm scared!" He pulled her away to make sure she was real. "I don't wanna be here anymore! They're mean to me!" He rubbed at the new large dent in his armor to show her what he meant. "They're mean, Sari! Don't wanna stay with them! I wanna stay with you!" He brought her in close again. "Please let me go with you! Please!" He continued pleading as he rubbed at his eyes. Most likely trying to get was ever bits of dirt fell in from his fall. "I don't wanna be a Slavebot anymore!"

"Shhh! Shhh… Calm down." The fall must have knocked something loose. He had clear, clean oil collecting and spilling from his eyes making it look like he was crying. "It's going to be okay, Bumble Bee. I won't leave you here." She had to calm him down before any of the Decepticons hear him. "Listen, we need your help." She paused to see if the Autobots were still at the entrance across from them. "The others on the other side of the cave and we need you to get the Decepticon's attention so they can sneak up on them."

"What?!"

"Shhh! You've got to, Bumble Bee. It's the only way we'll be able to go home." As hard as it was to see him like this, she looked him straight in the eyes. "You need to be brave."

He so badly wanted to leave. "…O-o-okay… I'll – I'll try…" If Sari said this would allow him to leave with her, he would try.

"Hey Slavebot!! I thought I told you to get me some oil!" Sari hid behind a large rock as the female clone stalked over to where Bumble Bee was crouching, figuring he was trying to tend to his injury. "You better stop lazing about or I'll give you a taste of my blasters!" She stood there basking in his irrational fear of her. "Well?!"

Hesitantly, trembling, the little bot stood and backed into the wall of the cave. _'Get their attention.'_ A voice beckoned. _'You need to get __**all**__ of their attention.'_ What did he do to get attention? "Umm, M-m-master?"

Blitzwing tilted his head slightly in curiosity. It was the first time the Autobot had spoken since he was brought there. "Vhat?"

The Tutorbot... He always got its attention with questions. Maybe it'll happen again with bigger bots. _'What do you ask the one you were made to serve?'_ "Umm, a-am I s-s-suppose to… s-s-serve her t-t-to?"

That got her oil boiling. "What. Did. You. Say."

He could already tell that was a big mistake. "M-m-master s-said, I-i was p-p-programmed t-to serve h-him… just him…" He was frozen in place as she closed the gap between them. "I…"

"Why you little…!!" The blow was quick and hard. It easily threw Bumble Bee a good eight human yards away from the female Decepticon. "I'll teach you, who your 'Master' is!!" She stalked right up to him and raised her hand again. Too scared to move, the Autobot curled up and waited for the blow.

_**CLANG!!**_

The loud clang came from Blitzwing catching the female Starscream clone's arm. "Don't you bash my Slave around!" With his 'Hot Head' face on and using his superior size he all but shoved her away from the smaller robot and positioned himself next to him. "He knows very well who his master is!" The sudden kick caught Bumble Bee completely off guard and had him slamming into the stone wall. "Unt how dare you even consider zerving anyone other zhan me, you pathetic pile of scrap metal!!"

"Oh what, just because you've enslaved one puny Autobot you think you're suddenly the leader?!" The female clone screeched at Blitzwing.

"There is no leader other than Megatron!!" Lugnut raged at the very idea. If anyone was going to own this slave completely, it was going to be their mighty leader. "He is the true Master! It will be he whom the Slavebot will serve!!"

"Indeed such a excellent example of fine servitude should work for only the very greatest of us all." The Sunstorm stated.

"Megatron?!" The ego-centric Starscream raged at the notion. "I am far more deserving a personal slave than he has ever been!!"

Skywarp was having a panic attack. "I don't want him as a slave! What is he revolts?! I don't want to lose my head!!"

"I don't want him either. Having a slave would be so bothersome." The lying seeker stated as he shoved the cowardly one aside.

As the metallic titans argued, Sari risked sneaking closer to her friend. He hadn't moved since he had hit the ground. "Bumble Bee!" She knocked against his forehead in an attempt to wake him up. "Are you alright?" He gave a pained expression on his face before he managed to open his eyes.

Through his static/blurred vision he noticed a robot sneaking behind Sari. "Nice distraction."

She turned around when the Autobot's eyes had widened and after hearing heard the voice. "Prowl!"

"C'mon." He placed the child on his shoulder and helped his teammate up to his feet. "I've managed to plant one of my explosive shuriken into the spacebridge's matrix." They would have to move slowly and crouch low due to Bumble Bee's injuries. "We got to move before they realize anything. I'll detonate it as soon as we're clear." The way the Decepticons were arguing it was very possible they would be able to sneak out without any confrontation.

"Hey buddy as soon as junior there reboots have'em get more oil, alright?" Mix Master had noticed the two and called over to Prowl. That, unfortunately, also alerted the other Decepticons.

"The Autobots are here!" Lugnut all but exploded at the sight of their hated enemies.

Lugnut charged towards the two Autobots and was soon intercepted by Bulkhead and thrown onto both the coward and the lair clones. Blitzing charged his blasters and took aim at the largest of the Autobots only to be checked into the cave wall by Optimus. Ratchet, with the use of his magnetic prongs, tore apart some of the flooring for the base of the star bridge and bombarded the ego maniac clone and the suck up clone with the debris. Mix Master and Scraper, much like the last time, watched the fight as it progressed. Only this time they were protecting the entrance to where all the Decepticon barrels of oil were. Prowl had to leave his charges in order to assist his teammates in battle. Bumble Bee sat frozen in place by the violent scene he was witnessing. The flashes were coming back. Visions of monsters and robots kept switching back and forth between and what was in front of him and what was in his head.

"C'mon Bumble Bee!" Sari's voice once again snapped him out of his trance. She pulled on his hand to urge him into getting up. "Let's get out of here!" The intense fighting had made the small Autobot realize just how much smaller his best friend really was. She could get hurt worse than he was if he didn't take her away from there.

Quickly he scooped up the little girl and started to run. He barely managed to dodge colliding with any of the much bigger robots before he tripped and fell. Dropping Sari and causing her to roll a short distance away. "Where do you think you're going, Slavebot?" The female Starscream clone had caught Bumble Bee by his wrist was about to force him up, knowing fully well he wouldn't dare fight back.

Sari ran and jumped onto the fallen Autobot side. "Get away from him, you rusted up witch!" The eight year old had managed to find an old piece of a rod from the first spacebridge and had struck sharply the Decepticon's wrist; forcing her to release her captive.

The female clone yelped from the sudden strike and grabbed Sari with her other servo. "Garr, you pathetic little human!!"

"Sari!" _'She's going to hurt her!'_ The thought raced through his mind the yellow bot watched the clone held Sari high and look ready to dash the child against the ground. _'She's going to hurt my friend!'_ "NO!!" Light suddenly filled that dark corner. "GET AWAY!!" Glowing like a star in the night, Bumble Bee shot out a huge burst of energy; hitting the female clone dead center and dropping Sari onto a pile of gravel.

The blast sent the she-bot flying, slamming into Blitzwing, onto Lugnut and the others, and crashing into the spacebridge. Lugnut being the biggest Decepticon flung his arms outward as he was slammed into, catching Ratchet and making him crash into a few cave columns. He wound up crushing most of them, thanks to his Autobot alloy armor and causing the cave ceiling to become unstable. Optimus went to Ratchet's side, helped him up and ordered a full retreat. Prowl snatched an unconscious Sari from the gravel mound as the stalactites began to fall. Bulkhead grabbed Bumble Bee, whom had collapsed from the sudden huge blast draining his power cells. As the team ran, they heard the sound of an explosion as Prowl's specialized shuriken detonated from the weight of the falling rocks.


	8. The Memories

*********

_**Chapter 8**_

Tired… he was so tired… The sudden surge of strength had left him as fast as it came… it was like a piece of him had been forced out of the shell. He didn't know what had happened… But he felt so strong… so confident… What caused this? … … The best friend… That was what happened… Sari… she was in trouble… she had taught him so much… he couldn't lose her… he had to help her… had to protect her… Protect… It was his purpose…

******

**Two hours later**

The first thing the Autobots did was get Sari home to her father so her injuries could be better treated. The second was to return to their base so Ratchet and Bumble Bee could be taken care of. As far as any of them could tell Bumble Bee wasn't harmed in anyway and only needed to recharge. However, what no one had notice was that he was **completely** unharmed physically by the experience. His dents and scratches were gone, including the large one that had been on his chassis.

Ratchet had gone straight for his infirmary to begin repairs on himself and Bumble Bee was laid to rest on the concrete sofa. Bumble Bee began to show signs of rebooting after nearly three hours of being in stasis. It started out as soft groans and mumbles, then accelerated to whimpers and slight thrashing movements until…

"SARI!!" The little bot shot up with a jolt and frantically looked around. The bad flashes had come back. Where was he? What happened? "Where's Sari?!"

"Calm down." The voice caused the yellow Autobot to turn and recognized the tall, slim, black robot. "She's alright."

The metal amnesiac never knew what to make of this particular robot. He wasn't as big as the others, but he never looked very friendly either. "Wh-where is she?"

"Back home with her father."

"That's not right!" Bumble Bee got onto his feet facing Prowl with a most distressed expression on his face. "She should be with her Dad!"

The stealth ninja bot tilted his head slightly in puzzlement. "…The words 'Father' and 'Dad' mean the same thing."

"I want to see her!" Disparate, the smaller robot went up to Prowl and grabbed onto his servos and shook them in a pleading manner. "Please I have to see her! I…"

"I doubt we'll be seeing her for awhile." Prowl explained while trying to make sense of the confused yet still frighten expression on the yellow Cybertronian. It was too vivid.

Bumble Bee could only stare in utter confusion. "I… I don't understand." Why wouldn't he get to see his friend?

"I'll just bet." The harsh tone had them both turning towards a rather angry looking Optimus Prime. Though he didn't understand the meaning behind direct glare, the small Autobot knew the larger robot was singling him out. "You've got a lot to answer for."

"Answer…?"

"What you did in the cave had to be the most reckless and dangerous stunt you have ever pulled." Optimus paced back and forth in his frustration in front of Bumble Bee. "Even considering your track record, I never would have expected this from you." All at once he rounded on the much smaller robot. "What by the Well of All Sparks were you thinking taking on Drige?"

The sudden aggressiveness startled him. Who was he talking about? Did he mean the mean girl robot? "S-she was g-going to hurt Sari…" The little robot didn't understand why this red and blue robot was yelling at him.

"So you fire full blast at point blank while she was captured?!" The Autobot leader didn't need an energy reading to tell him that the blast was five times stronger than any of the other times the yellow robot had used it. Sari could have very well been fried to death. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd obeyed your orders and stayed in the plant in the first place!" In his anger, Optimus hadn't noticed that he had back Bumble Bee up against the wall and boxed him in. Nor had he noticed the smaller robot was visually trembling. "What were you thinking; talking to Blitzwing the way you did?!"

"But I thought…" He hadn't known. That giant robot was just talking to him. He didn't know he wasn't supposed to talk to other robots. "Wh-who…? M-master…" He didn't understand why the big bot was glaring at him like that as he tried to speak, "he said…"

"He lied! He's a Decepticon! It's what they do!" The little yellow robot whimpered and tried to shy away from the bigger robot, however the wall prevented him from moving any further. "Don't you even have the sense to know when someone's lying to you?!"

Prowl had been watching the smaller bot the entire time. His behavior was bizarre, his facial expression extreme, his confusion to Blitzwing's name then his reference to 'master' and now his reaction to their leader's scolding. _'He has absolutely no idea what is going on!'_ "Prime!"

Optimus whipped his head towards a very shocked looking Prowl. "What?!" It was only when he glanced back did he see it. The little robot was trembling hard. His optics were wide and wild with panic. Two small steams of clear, clean oil were spilling from them. His arms were brace in front for a blow. He was afraid. "B-bumble Bee…?" Optimus couldn't believe it. The little bot was very much afraid… Of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't…" The large bot reached for him in apology. Unfortunately, the gestured brought back the memory of Blitzwing grabbing for him. Terrified, Bumble Bee screamed, and had startled Optimus into stumbling back. The nanosecond there was an opening; the little Autobot ran and kept running, out of the plant and into the night. "Bumble Bee, wait!"

The yellow robot ran and ran all through the dark streets. All he could think of was getting away. That face… The anger in it meant pain. He had to get away! _'Faster!'_ He felt had to run faster. His panic stricken eyes and body glowed that same strange glow again, only not as intense. He didn't even hear the forgotten rocket boosters in his shoulders as they had activated and helped sped him up. To him, everything just blurred around him into unfamiliar streaks of lights and shadows.

It wasn't long before he was lost due to him changing his direction whenever he heard an unfamiliar sound, until he finally stopped at an old broken part of town, his boosters retracting to their compartments and his eyes turning to normal again. It was like he had just woken up in dark and empty world. The streets were mostly empty this late at night and were very lonely. He thought of Sari and how much better he felt when she had wrapped her tiny frame around him. He tried wrapping his own servos around himself in an attempt to bring the feeling back but felt no comfort. Not wanting to be all alone, yet too scared to go back even if he could find his way, the little Autobot could only wander aimlessly through the streets; leaving behind only small drops of clear oil tears that had splattered on the ground.

*****

**3 Hours Later: Sumdac Towers**

The bright lights of Sumdac Towers could be seen in the far distance. Like any lost traveler, Bumble Bee followed the glow of lights to what he hoped would be a safe place to rest for the night. Anything with bright lights had to be safer than the dark, right? When he recognized the building as the place where Sari had taken him earlier that day, the Autobot ran towards the doors. _'Sari would make it better.' _He repeated the thought over and over as he raced towards the door. _'She always makes everything better...'_

He stopped short. Through the glass doors, he saw Sari's dad pushing his cherish daughter in a contraction that resembled a wheelchair. She was asleep and her arm was in a sling, other than that she wasn't badly hurt. However, all Bumble Bee saw was how small and vulnerable she looked in that chair like device. Also how sad her dad was. _**'I doubt we'll be seeing her for awhile.'**_ Dishearten and believing he wouldn't be welcomed inside, the sadden Autobot walked around the building to where he saw the beautiful sky earlier. With seemly nowhere else to go and without a friend to tell him 'it's okay' the yellow robot only sat down and began sobbing.

He didn't understand. How could everything have turned out so bad? He got to go outside. He made a friend. He even learned what an appointment was like. Then he spoke to another robot. Now everyone was mad at him.

"Why are they so mean?" He buried his face into his arms while he hugged his knees. "I didn't mean to get Sari and the red and white bot hurt." _**'So you fired full blast and point blank while she was captured?!'**_ He hugged his knees even tighter as the red and blue robot's words rang angrily in his head. "What do they want from me?"

"Nothing." Bumble Bee turned around and fell backward at the sight of the biggest Autobot. "No. Don't be scared." The little bot had tried backing away from Bulkhead and wound up curling into a fetal position while trembling and covering his head. "I-I'm not going to hurt you." The huge robot sighed sadly when his friend didn't change his position. "I could never hurt you, Little Buddy." It hurt the large robot to his very spark to see the yellow mech so afraid.

The tone of his voice caught Bumble Bee's attention. The gentle sadness of it had him timidly opening his eyes and looking up at the big bot. _'He looks so sad… like Sari's dad.'_ Then Bumble Bee felt something running down his face. He found oil seeping from his eyes again. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing wrong with you, you just sprung a leak." Bulkhead moved slowly and was allowed to get close enough to tilt the smaller bots head to examine the oil streaks coming from his optics. It felt like he was looking at Sari whenever her 'optics' would leak. "It's not your fault you can't remember anything." Figuring it wouldn't be the best idea to take him back to headquarters; the large robot shifted so that he was sitting on the grass next to his little friend. "Optimus shouldn't have snapped at you like that. He was just worried about Sari and Ratchet. "

And it was his fault they were hurt in the first place. _**'None of this would have happened if you'd obeyed your orders and stayed at the base!!'**_ That much was made painfully clear. "I'm sorry…" The little bot just hugged his legs and buried his face in his arms again.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. It just happened." This didn't seem to help matters since the little bot was sobbing now. Bulkhead thought it best to change the subject, but he didn't know what else to talk about. "Gee, there sure are a lot of stars out tonight." He commented as he took a glance at the clear night sky. Inspired, Bulkhead decided to try what Sari had been doing for the days few days. "You know, you used to look up at the stars a lot. You were always a little bot full of big dreams."

Bumble Bee wiped the oil away and looked at Bulkhead curiously. "I was?"

"Ever since the day I met you back at Autobot Camp." The next hour was spent with the biggest of the Autobots sitting and telling stories to the smallest. The telling of the adventures they both had shared brought good memories for Bulkhead; and, unfortunately, some bad ones. "Sentinel was going to throw me out… for 'good measure' as he put it… but then you step forward and took the blame for me. He denied your chance of advancing into the Elite Guard and made you a spacebridge technician like me. We've been together ever since." The past incident and current situation made the large Autobot realize that now Bumble Bee may now never realize that dream at all. He sighed heavily at the thought and glanced back down at his little friend. "Remember?"

Like he feared, he only recieved a negative shake of the head. The huge Autobot sighed again and fell silent. He missed his best friend. It was just so awkward to have the little bot sitting right there next to him and not even know that they were friends. "…So your saying, I gave up my dreams so that you could keep yours?"

The question took Bulkhead by surprise. Even more so, the way it was worded threw him off. "Uh… yeah… guess you did…"

"Then, that must mean we're best friends, right?" Bulkhead only blinked in surprise. Where did that idea come from? "Sari said that a best friend is very special. Someone you can always count on when things go bad… and that you can have more than one." Bumble Bee explained as he thought about the story he just heard. It sounded so familiar. It felt right. "If I was willing to give up what I always wanted so that your dreams could come true, then that would make us real friends." That felt even more right. "Right?"

"Uhh, yeah." The large Autobot had to scratch at his head in confusion. He could see that the little robot in all honesty couldn't remember, but the fact that he acknowledged him as his friend was start. "Yeah, it does." To Bulkhead's surprise, Bumble Bee shifted so that he was hugging at his side as much as his small figure could.

The little bot easily felt the awkwardness of the situation. "Um, Sari did this to me a lot today." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he looked up at the huge Autobot. "Is it okay?"

His answer was a wide grin as Bulkhead, with a single servo, picked him up and hugged him to his chest region. Exactly the way he did when they first met. "It's just fine little buddy!" The green robot didn't notice his friend's eyes glowing yellow for a brief moment. He did, however felt a tiny hug back that companied the smile afterwards. Bulkhead soon radioed the others and told them that Bumble Bee was safe. The two walked through the rest of the night talking about things that happened throughout the day before the incident with the Decepticons happened.


	9. The Understanding

*****

_**Chapter 9**_

**The Woods**

Deep in the woods, within all that remained of the Decepticon base in the mountain, something moved among the rocks. Small golden streaks and currents of energy were glowing among the ruble. The glowing rocks jiggled and moved, collecting themselves into a pile making it look almost like a stone lamp stand with a highly strong lit candle inside. Suddenly the glow dimmed for an instant, then flared changing from bright yellow to neon purple. The rocks broke and crumbled into smaller and smaller rocked and reformed into a pillar about the size of an average person. Strange alien symbols appeared as though caved into small mount and a pair purple glowing eyes flashed open through the pile in an angry looking glare. In the shadow of the moonlit night a sound of shifting dirt and pebbles could be heard as the figured moved, losing his earth made mass and revealing a humanoid body structure.

'_I hear you…'_ The lone figured walked silently with a strive that told of pure determination towards an unknown goal. Warned of a temperament and ferocity ready to be unleashed the very instant it must. _'I sense your fear…'_ The glow dimed to that of a mere aura until only the makings stayed illuminated. _'I sense your weakness…'_ The being continued his marched until stopping on a small ledge that over looked the city of Detroit where a feeling pulled at him from somewhere within the concrete jungle. _'I will find you… And those who stand in the way… will pay dearly…'_

******

**The Plant**

Optimus stood at the entrance waiting for the metallic duo to return, and replaying the day's events over in his head in slow motion. This time catching every frighten sob and stutter and fully realizing the situation he had in his servos. Not only had one of his teammates had been attacked and dismantled, but was also, almost purposely, left completely without any knowledge to the world around him. He hadn't been informed of the present danger he was in, hadn't know or been warned about the threat the Decepticon's posed, and wasn't giving any instructions on what to do when cornered. However the earlier confrontation had proven one thing for sure. _**'But I thought… Master… he said…' 'Master…' **_It was clear now more than ever that Bumble Bee was totally and completely vulnerable to any form of influence.

Prim's thought pattern was interrupted when he heard heavy footsteps heading towards the plant. He saw the little yellow Autobot sitting high on Bulkhead's wide shoulder, leaning on his head much like a small human child would do on an adult. Optimus had seen the gesture enough to recognize it and noted it on the growing list of odd behaviors the small robot had been picking up. It further proved how much more impressionable the young bot was now. Prime waited patiently as the two entered the plant and lowered the door behind them.

"You're back." Unfortunately the first reaction the little robot had at the sight of the Autobot leader was to stiffen and reach for his giant sized friend's servo, which had been keeping him from falling off. Proof, he was, to Prime's disappointment, that he was still afraid of the red and blue Autobot. "Bumble Bee… I'd like to have a word with you." He made a quick glance at Bulkhead. "Alone."

The little robot stared down at Optimus. He didn't look angry anymore. He looked sad. "Uh… o-okay…" As nervous as he was, he didn't want the big robot to be sad.

"Go easy on him, Prime." Bulkhead carefully settled his little buddy back onto the ground. "He's has a rough day." The red and blue robot nodded that he would and motioned for Bumble Bee to follow him.

******

**Monitor Room**

Optimus led the little yellow bot over to the control panel where they could sit without any interruptions. "I wanted to apologize. I was completely out of line before." Bumble Bee only sat there quietly watching him. "I know you're having a lot of trouble remembering anything… but sometime you say or do something that you would normally do and I'd forget." He turned away and rubbed his head awkwardly. He really didn't know any other way to explain. "I guess I keep waiting for you to burst out laughing and claim this as some kind of prank." This of course confused the little yellow bot, since he could recall ever doing such a thing before. "But its not is it?" Optimus turned back and looked at his comrade squarely in his large, round optics. "You honestly had no idea who Blitswing was or what was happening did you?"

Bumble Bee looked downcast. Even though his new best friend had told him it wasn't his fault, he still felt very guilty about it. He had felt something was wrong before, but didn't do anything about it. "No sir."

"Hmm, look Bumble Bee. I need you to understand something right now." Taking a risk Optimus placed his hands on the smaller Cybertronian's shoulders. "At this point in time the Autobots are on the verge of war with the Decepticons." If this was going to work, if he was going to keep him safe, he had to make sure the little robot understood what was going on. "We have been granted by Ultra Magnus, the Elite Guard leader, to be stationed here on Earth to gather and protect the shards of the All Spark. I'll explain more about that later, but for now I need you to understand this." This was a big risk he was going to take, but it had to be done. "There's another robot out there. One, who is very dangerous. If he finds you, he'll do a lot worse than make you work as a Slavebot." Prime could tell that scared the small bot very much. That there was something that was much worse than being a Slavebot. "I'm going to need you to stay close to headquarters from now on and to never, ever, go out into the city alone; until we're able to get your memory back, if we can. Understand?" When the little Autobot nodded, Optimus sighed both in relief and wary as he stood up. There was going to be a lot of work to do before this whole ordeal was over.

"What does it mean?" Prime looked almost shocked. Could Bumble Bee's central processor have been so damaged that he'd have missed the obvious warning? "Before the big robot… I mean…"

"Bulkhead?" Optimus offered when he saw the yellow Cybertronian glancing back to where had Bulkhead walked off to.

"Bulkhead." Bumble Bee smiled at finding out his friend's name. "He called you something…" He paused to remember the word. "Umm… 'Prime'. What does that mean?"

"It's a ranking." This at least was easy to explain. "I'm ranked as Optimus Prime. It means I'm the leader of this unit. My job is to ensure the safety and well being of my team and the innocent civilians that live here." Out of habit, he quoted the oath he had taken long ago. "To respect the source of life and protect it at all cost."

"Oh I get it." It almost sounded like what Sari told him earlier. "So a 'Prime' is like a 'Dad'." Now it was young leader's turn to be confused. "You look out for those you care about and work hard to see that everyone's safe and happy."

That had Optimus blinking. "I never really thought about it like that before." It was so blunt. So innocently simple, "But that's correct," and apparently just the right thing to establish a somewhat stable connection with the little bot. "And speaking of looking out for those I care about, it high time you power down for the night." Placing a hand on Bumble Bee's shoulder, Prime gently nudged him off the chair and began leading him to his room. "Tomorrow, we're going to begin your re-training. That way incase you're caught alone with another Decepticon, you'll know what to do."

"Okay."

******

**Bumble Bee's Room**

When they made it to his room, he went straight for his sleeping berth the second the door opened. Optimus noticed that he seemed confused at why the berth was slanted and walked over. He laid Bumble Bee back on the berth and kept his servos on him so he wouldn't fall as it automatically shifted to lay back flat. It was a setting the small Autobot had gotten used to when Sari had lived with them, since she tended to sleep with him whenever she had experience unpleasant memory relapse. {nightmares} There was even a tarp at the foot of the berth the little bot tended to use as a blanket to make sure his organic friend stayed warm when she slept over. Bumble Bee, a little startled by the action, but comforted by the presence of a caring Prime, giggled at the short ride on his bed. The red and blue robot couldn't remember seeing the little bot looked so happy to be powering down for the night… or for that matter, seeing him tuck a servo under his head before going into recharge.

As a final act of making him comfortable, the Autobot leader pulled the tarp over Bumble Bee's smaller frame and tucked a small amount under him so it wouldn't fall off. Satisfied, the young leader made his way towards the door. "Goodnight Dad-bot."

Optimus froze in his tracks and looked back at his scout, staring a little. The title was strange to him. It was simple mistake. Easily fix with a simple correct stating. "Goodnight Bumble Bee." It just wasn't a priority at the moment.

The way the young bot smiled before falling into recharge brought a warm wave of familiarity. It had been a long time since the smaller bot was truly at ease with his surroundings and as the door closed Prime swore to make sure this wouldn't be the last time. The young Autobot leader began to make a quick round to check that all was well in the plant before he made his way towards his own room.

He stops suddenly and glanced up at the skylight.

Though he couldn't see, he could hear… imagine… the distant whirling sound of blades on a helicopter… flying somewhere in the night.

**To Be Continued in Laws of Nature 2**

Morayma N. Rodriguez ©2008


End file.
